


A Comforting Deception

by yarnandtea



Category: Dragon Age II
Genre: Alternate Universe - Crack, Crack, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Multi, kitty au, magical mischief
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-03
Updated: 2013-09-19
Packaged: 2017-12-25 11:12:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 24,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/952395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yarnandtea/pseuds/yarnandtea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While Sebastian and Fenris are away from Kirkwall, Anders is befriended by two cats who are anything but ordinary. It takes him a bit longer than it should to realize that these two events are not unrelated. But he gets there eventually, and some rocky relationships are soothed over in the process.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is nominally set during the second act of Dragon Age II, but it definitely plays it a little loose and fast with the time line (and probably negates pretty much the whole ending of the game). My only real argument to that is that, hey, I turned Sebastian and Fenris into cats because I can. I’m not sure it’s really, um, logical to expect strict adherence to canon at this point. Read at your own risk. Because seriously. Shit got silly, y’all.
> 
> Mature rating is for later chapters, and there is implied Fenabela in addition to the other listed relationships.

Anders didn't think too much about the new cats when they first appeared. Cats always turned up at his clinic, assuming they could survive Darktown long enough to find it. He put out milk when he had it on hand, and usually he could spare a crumb or two from his own meals when he didn't. Cats knew he would feed them if he saw them. They had a sense about that sort of thing. He smiled to himself as he eyed the new pair, imagining some sort of Kitty Underground where they let each other know which humans could be trusted and which were best avoided.

The brown cat poked delicately at the saucer of milk, sniffing it cautiously before leaning down to daintily lap up a few mouthfuls. The grey cat, however, just sneered at the dish and glared at Anders. He shrugged and went back inside, knowing some cats didn't appreciate an audience while they ate. The clinic was slow today, with no patients currently requiring his services, so he sat down at his rickety desk to work on his manifesto until it was time to close up for the evening.

Sometime later, Anders' concentration was broken when the brown cat surprised him by leaping up on his desk. He had misjudged his leap, and his landing sent parchment and ink flying everywhere. Anders uttered a curse and hurried to find a rag and clean himself off. He sighed at the ruined parchment in frustration. The cat uttered what sounded like a rather contrite meow and Anders sighed again, this time in amusement.

"It's all right, kitty," he said. "I wasn't too sure about that last bit anyway. I'll rewrite it another time." The cat meowed again and curled his tail around his front paws, looking at Anders expectantly. "I'm afraid I haven't got any more food, if that's what you're after."

The cat just continued to stare at him. Anders reached out cautiously, and when the cat didn't flinch back, he gave him a good scratch behind the ears. The cat's eyes slid shut and he issued a low purr. Anders chuckled, then stood and scooped the cat up carefully. The cat's eyes snapped open but he didn't squirm or voice any objections to being carried.

"I am sorry, kitty," Anders said. "But come back tomorrow, and I should have some more milk for you then."

He set the cat outside the clinic doors and turned his attention to the lantern shining above it. Once the light was extinguished, he pulled the heavy doors shut and barred them from the inside. Leaning back against the door, he glanced around the room and was surprised to find the brown cat sitting right in front of him.

"How did you...?" He glanced back at the door behind him and then down at the cat again. In true feline fashion, the brown cat looked quite proud of himself. Anders couldn't help it, he laughed. "Right. Cat. Excellent at stealth. Fair enough. I wasn't lying though, I haven't got any more food for you. I didn't make it to the market this week, I was going to go in the morning. I've barely got anything for my own dinner tonight."

The cat uttered a flippant meow and turned, sauntering further into the clinic. He hopped up onto one of the examination beds and lay down, curling up into a tight ball. He gave a wide yawn that made even Anders tired and rested his chin on his paws. His big blue eyes slid shut and Anders laughed again.

"So, it's a safe place to sleep you're looking for then, is it? I suppose the clinic probably is the safest place in Darktown for a cat. Very well, you can stay the night if you'd like. Who am I to turn away someone in need, eh? Especially someone so cute and fuzzy." As he said the last he walked over to the table and stroked the cat's back a few times. The cat purred loudly in response.

He walked back to his desk and finished picking up the mess of parchment and ink. While he was kneeling on the floor, he saw movement in the shadows beneath his desk.

"Oh? What have we here?" The shadows shifted and the grey cat stepped forward enough to be seen. "Well, hello there, beautiful," Anders said warmly, reaching out to pet the second cat. It hissed and swiped a paw at him, only missing Anders' hand by a hair, then scrabbled back into the shadows. "Well, I suppose you just want the warm place to stay, not so much the company, hmm?" He smiled into the shadows and received a loud growl in return. "Suit yourself," Anders said lightly. "You're more than welcome too."

He finished picking up and went about his evening, cleaning up the clinic and preparing his own meager meal. He made a note to himself to disinfect all of the tables in the morning, since there was no way to know which of them the cats might want to sleep on in the night. At least he had plenty of that clear distilled liquor Corff called his "special" on hand. It was completely unfit for human consumption, despite Corff's claims. But Anders had found it worked remarkably well as a cleaning agent. Plus, Corff was willing to sell it to him at a discount.

"Goodnight kitties!" Anders called as he finally made his way to bed. "Just so you know, you're more than welcome to any rats you might find trying to sneak in during the night!" His only reply was another low growl from the direction of his desk and he chuckled to himself as he drifted off to sleep. Even if only one of them was actually friendly, it had been nice to have company for an evening. Still, he fully expected them to be gone by morning.

They weren't.

When he emerged into the clinic come morning, he found both cats curled up together on the same table the brown one had chosen the night before. He stopped by the table and watched them for a few moments, a fond smile on his face. The sunlight that filtered into the clinic gave him a better look at them than he had gotten the night before. They were larger than the strays who normally found their way to him, and seemed to be in rather good health. They were also remarkably clean for strays. Anders wondered how they had ended up in Darktown. In the light, he could make out a red sheen to the brown cat's coat. The grey cat had bold white stripes running along his body, and small tufts of fur at the tips of his ears. The brown cat stirred, blue eyes opening and blinking up at Anders.

"Good morning," he said softly.

He reached out and scratched the cat under the chin, receiving another satisfied purr for his trouble. The grey cat woke a minute later, green eyes snapping open in surprise. He hissed at Anders and scrambled around the brown cat, sitting behind him. Not hiding, exactly, but clearly not wanting anything to do with Anders.

"Your friend isn't much for people, is he?" Anders remarked with a laugh. The brown cat meowed back. "Alright then, I need you two to hop down. I've got to clean these tables off in case I need them for patients. Go on, off with you now."

The grey cat hissed again. Anders fully expected to have to remove both cats from the table physically. Cats weren't really known for following orders, after all. He was quite surprised then, when the brown cat turned and swatted at the grey cat until he grudgingly jumped off the table, then followed right behind him.

"Oh! Thank you!" The brown cat meowed again and wound around Anders' legs. "I still haven't got any food for you," he chided. "But I'm going to the market once I've cleaned up in here. I'll pick you up a special treat."

The brown cat meowed in reply again and then sauntered off into the shadows. Presumably, he was going to find his friend. Anders put them out of his mind and set to work cleaning up and readying the clinic for any new patients that might come along later. Then he retrieved a basket from his room and removed the bar from one of the doors. He smiled as both cats brushed by him, darting out of the clinic as soon as the door was pushed open. Locking the door behind himself and pocketing the key, Anders turned and made his way toward the nearest path to Lowtown.

"Come back later for your treat, kitties," he called over his shoulder. He doubted they would, but it was nice to hope. Besides, anything he bought for them wouldn't go to waste. It would get eaten one way or another.

Perhaps, in retrospect, he should have realized something strange was going on when he discovered that the two cats had actually followed him into Lowtown. Instead, he was a bit enchanted with the idea that the pair (well, the brown one at least) had taken to him and seemed to want his company. Worried that someone might try to catch them or that they would find some sort of trouble in the market, Anders hurried through his shopping and then headed back home to the clinic. He was grinning in delight when he unlocked the door and walked back inside, the two cats right on his heels.

For the next week, the brown cat was his constant companion, and the grey was never far from the brown. Even he seemed to warm up to Anders a bit by the end of the week. He stopped hissing every time Anders looked at him, at least, which was a start. He also started accepting the food Anders offered, though he still eyed it with distrust until the brown started eating. Anders was glad of the company, and there were other benefits to the cats' presence as well.

For one thing, they managed to keep the clinic rat-free, which in Darktown was a great accomplishment indeed. That was mostly down to the grey cat. He seemed to take great joy in hunting the creatures down whenever one did manage to sneak inside. Much to Anders’ surprise, he did not eat them, though. Instead, he would drag his kills to the large cutouts in the far wall, hopping on the ledge and tossing them down into the water below.

"You know, he really is remarkably good at that," Anders commented one afternoon as he and the brown cat watched the grey on the hunt. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor, leaning against one of the support posts that were scattered around the clinic. The brown cat was sitting beside him, front paws on his knee, head stretched forward to accept the scratches that Anders offered. He opened his eyes and stared up at Anders solemnly. "Maybe I should call him Hunter," Anders mused.

"Mrow?"

"Well, if you two are going to stay, I can hardly keep calling you 'Grey Kitty' and 'Brown Kitty' can I?" The cat tilted his head under Anders' hand. He gathered himself and jumped up into Anders’ lap, standing on his hind legs so he could look Anders in the face. "What? You don't want me to keep calling you 'Brown Cat' do you?"

"Meow!"

"I didn't think so," Anders chuckled. He stroked his hand down the cat's back, barely registering the abruptly silenced squeak in the corner that indicated the grey cat had caught his prey. "Right. So Hunter for him. He won't like it whatever I decide to call him, I'm sure. But it suits him. That just leaves you."

"Meow?"

"I'm not sure. My first thought was Prince--"

"Mrow?" The cat's blue eyes went impossibly round. Anders laughed.

"You rather remind me of a friend of mine, you see, who just happens to be a prince. Well, maybe 'friend' isn't the right word for it. We don't really get along that well. But we would, I think, if he wasn't so devoted to that blasted Chantry of his."

"Meow!" The cat swatted at him. His claws were velveted, but it was an irritated swipe nonetheless.

"Oh kitty, don't worry. I like you much more than I like Sebastian. But your eyes are the same shade of blue as his, and the color of your fur is just like his hair. It's a little funny though, you traveling with Hunter. With his stripes and his green eyes, not to mention those tufted ears, he rather reminds me of Fenris in his spiky armor. But it could just be the two of you together. Those two are rarely apart, either."

Anders heaved a sigh and glanced over at Hunter, who had joined them after disposing of his most recent victim. He was stretched out on the ground not far away, his chin resting on his paws, glaring at Anders like he usually did. The two cats shared a weighted glance but Anders paid it no mind. He just continued to stroke the brown cat absently, lost in his thoughts. The cat sat back down, settling across Anders' lap, and looked up at him with curiosity.

"They left, you see," Anders said after a few moments. "Like I said, Sebastian is a prince, and he went to try to find help reclaiming his throne. Fenris left with him. To keep him safe in his travels, I presume." Hunter made a little huffing noise but Anders continued speaking as if he had not heard. "To tell you two a secret, I actually miss them a lot. I like them more than I ever let on, I suppose. Yes! Even Fenris!" He laughed when Hunter made an indignant yowling sound, sitting up quickly and staring at him in what almost seemed to be surprise.

"For all that he rails against mages even existing, I've never seen him attack one without provocation. I think if I had met him anywhere but Kirkwall, we might have had a chance at being friends," Anders mused wistfully. "There is something wrong with this city. I can feel it in my bones. Justice feels it as well. The magic here is...foul. It's as if the connection to the Fade has been twisted. I would wager a great deal that Fenris feels it too, because of his markings. Perhaps that's why he's always so grouchy. I also think that's why demons have such an easy time corrupting the mages here, and Maker knows Meredith's paranoia only helps to fuel the flames." He sighed.

"But somewhere else? Where blood mages aren't popping up around every corner? Where the city itself doesn't feel corrupted? Perhaps there he might have been willing to listen. Perhaps there I could have had a chance of convincing him that not every mage is as power hungry as those bastard magisters who made his life pure torment."

The cats both stared at him in silence. The brown cat wore that solemn gaze he so often had, and Hunter seemed almost to be contemplating Anders' speech. The brown cat mewed plaintively and Anders glanced down, giving himself a little shake.

"Oh, listen to me! Getting all maudlin! I am sorry, kitties." He cracked a small smile. "Friends or not, I did love traveling with them. Excellent fighters, both, and quite pretty to look at. Just like you!" He scratched the brown cat's chin and Hunter hissed, turning his back on them both. "Now! I was trying to find a name for you, wasn't I?" Anders looked down at the brown cat. "You don't like Prince. How about Rogue? You definitely have stealthy movements down. Don't think I didn't notice you stealing that extra bit of chicken off of my plate last night!"

"Meow?" The sound was at once both innocent and proud. Anders laughed loudly, picking the cat up for a gentle hug. The cat purred against him, butting his head under Anders' chin.

"Rogue it is, then!"


	2. Chapter 2

The next day was a hectic one. Anders was kept busy with patients from sunup to sundown. Rogue and Hunter made themselves scarce, mostly hiding out in the back room where Anders slept. He was grateful. It would be unfortunate for something to happen to one of them, or to one of his patients, because they had gotten underfoot accidentally. Cats were quite good at that, after all. But he supposed they didn't like the bustle, and so they stayed out of the way. Although at midday he did notice that Rogue had ventured out to play with a couple of young children who were waiting on Anders to see to their mother. Seeing her children happily occupied put the woman at ease and allowed Anders to treat her much more quickly than if she had been fretting.

Perhaps that was why he allowed Rogue to remain on his desk when he sank down onto his stool with dinner after the lanterns had finally been extinguished. The desk was the cat's favorite perch--he seemed to like the vantage point it gave to everything going on in the room--but Anders had a firm rule of no cats on the table where he was eating. Rogue mostly obeyed the rule. This time, Anders didn't even bother to shoo him off. He just slumped on his seat and ate quickly, then settled in for a few hours work on his manifesto before turning in for the night.

Rogue moved over to peer at the document curiously when Anders pulled it out to begin writing. If he hadn't known any better, he would have thought the cat was trying to read it. He moved even closer, emitting a funny little growl at the section that Anders had just added.

"Now, now kitty. No paw prints on the manifesto!"

"Meow!"

"Oh come on, it's not THAT bad!"

"Meow."

"Fine. I'll rewrite that part."

Anders grumbled and scratched it out, only mildly aware of how ridiculous it was that he was letting a cat critique his writing. Still. He clearly had been distracted when he had written it. Upon a second examination, it made very little sense, suggesting that perhaps Andraste had been in favor of enslaving mages. That wouldn't do at all. Rogue began to purr as Anders corrected the passage.

"Well, well, well. What have we here?"

Anders turned to find Isabela leaning against the clinic's door, an amused smile on her face.

"I didn't hear you come in," he remarked by way of greeting.

"Hmm, well, you know me, I don't like to be a bother." She sauntered forward a few steps.

"That door was locked," Anders observed dryly, "and barred. From the inside."

"I have my ways." She flashed a grin at him. Rogue made a happy little sound and jumped off the table, dashing over to Isabela. He stretched up, putting his front paws on her knee, clamoring for attention. "Well hello there, beautiful!" she purred at him. He purred right back.

Anders was torn between amusement and annoyance. Rogue had always been friendly, there was no reason to be jealous that he was greeting Isabela so...enthusiastically. Isabela sank down to the floor, pulling the cat into her lap and scratching his chin cheerfully. There was a blur of grey from across the clinic and suddenly Hunter was in Isabela's lap as well, standing on his hind legs and nuzzling her chin. He issued a series of plaintive cries, dropping down and purring happily when Isabela began petting him as well.

"Oh come on!" Anders exclaimed. "Her you'll climb all over?" Hunter shot a glare at him and then went back to nuzzling Isabela. She laughed loudly, trying to pet both cats occupying her lap. Anders tried to fight a scowl. He was not jealous of Isabela. He wasn't. That was an exercise in futility, really. "Well, I suppose she is rather more pleasant to cuddle," Anders admitted. Hunter purred in assent and Isabela laughed loudly.

"Maker! This lot is friendly! Is this why you haven't been coming around the last little bit? And to think, Hawke sent me to check on you because she feared you'd worked yourself to exhaustion!"

"The clinic's been busy." Anders tried.

"Oh bollocks!" Isabela waved a hand dismissively and then went back to petting the cats. Rogue rubbed his head against the swell of one breast and she glanced down at him with a grin. "Oh, you're cheeky. I like that." She glanced back up at Anders. "You've hardly had any patients all week until today, according to Varric."

"Well," Anders admitted, looking fondly at the cats, "I suppose I have been a bit distracted since Hunter and Rogue showed up." He smiled happily. Truth be told, the cats tended to follow him whenever he did leave the clinic, and he didn't particularly care for the idea of one of them getting hurt while he was tagging along on Hawke's misadventures.

"Oh Maker's breath, you've named them." Isabela arched a brow at him and shook her head slightly. She looked down at the cats again and then back at Anders. Her voice was soft when she spoke. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, though. At least this time there's no one to take your pets away from you. Hey!" Hunter had nipped her hand. She examined it with feigned annoyance.

"They're not my pets," Anders chuckled. "As Hunter will gladly remind you, it seems. Call them...companions. They showed up and haven't left yet. I am glad of their company, but they are free to leave whenever they wish."

"Hmm. If you say so."

Rogue nuzzled up against her breast one more time and then hopped off her lap, returning to his spot on the desk next to Anders. Isabela's eyes followed the cat, and a knowing smile spread across her face when Rogue reached out a paw to tap Anders on the chin, tilting his head forward so that Anders could scratch it.

"They look pretty happy where they are to me," Isabela observed.

She stayed for about an hour, presumably to get Anders to make a few potions for her. But he was certain she was making sure he really was all right. It was nice to know that Hawke cared enough to send her, and Isabela as well, he realized. The pirate wasn't likely to agree to such reconnaissance if she wasn't concerned as well. They gossiped a bit about the others, and he was amused to note that their feline companions seemed to follow the conversation raptly. Eventually, Isabela made ready to leave, allowing Anders to actually open the door for her this time.

"You'd better be at the card game tomorrow night though," Isabela warned him. "Or Hawke is likely to come drag you out of here herself." She glanced down at Hunter, who was winding through her legs and meowing plaintively. "Bring your friends. They're well behaved enough, I'm sure no one will mind." She leaned down to give him one final scratch between the ears.

"I'll be there," Anders promised, showing her out.

Hunter stared at the door after she had gone, looking even grumpier than normal. Anders settled back down to his manifesto and Rogue went to sit beside Hunter. He leaned against his companion in a comforting manner. Anders watched them, wondering not for the first time what their story might be. They were remarkably well behaved for cats. Even Hunter, who had warmed up to Anders only marginally.

They no longer slept on the clinic tables after that first night, for example. The next morning Rogue had watched curiously while Anders disinfected all of the tables, and that evening he had sought out an alternative bed, looking to Anders for approval of their new resting spot. Anders had ended up making them a nest of blankets in his room, and they had been sleeping there every night since. They stayed off the tables too, as far as Anders had seen, finding their own perches in the clinic and seeking out clear patches of floor for afternoon catnaps. And they listened. If Anders explained why they should leave something alone, or not do a particular thing in a particular place, they did what he asked. It was all a little uncanny.

Hunter issued a heavy grunt and then turned from the door, stalking toward the back room. Rogue watched him go and then turned to Anders with a solemn meow. Anders shook himself from his thoughts and glanced down at his manifesto. He had completely lost the train of thought he'd been on when Isabela arrived, and he was fairly sure he wouldn't be getting it back this night. He yawned widely and Rogue meowed again.

"Hmm. You're right. Might as well turn in now. There's no telling how busy tomorrow will be, and if we're expected to go out tomorrow night, we should get what rest we can, eh?"

The last addition to his document long since dry, Anders shuffled his papers together and locked them away in the box they were kept in. He pushed the corner of the desk, moving it across the floor, and stashed the box in a loose floorboard beneath where the desk usually stood. Then he put away the rest of his writing implements and set about cleaning up the clinic and readying it for the morning. Rogue followed him around as he did this and then settled down in the blanket nest with Hunter when Anders finally reached the back room and readied himself for bed.

"Good night kitties," he whispered as he doused the light. "Sleep tight."

He was woken in the dead of the night by low plaintive meowing and a paw batting gently but insistently at his face. As awareness slowly crept in, he could also hear a low and steady growl coming from the floor near the doorway.

“What in the Maker’s name—?”

Then he heard it too.

The heavy scuffling of armored boots, only just barely discernible from the other side of the clinic’s main doors. This was accompanied by the creaking of wood and a series of low grunts. Someone was trying to break in to the clinic. Anders had little trouble guessing just who it might be.

“Damn!”

He jumped off his cot, not bothering to find clothing, and called forth a tiny ball of light as he reached for his staff with the other hand. He started to call forth a burst of ice but let the spell fizzle out midway. It had the effect of cooling down the room and his cot instantly. Anders nodded in satisfaction and turned for the doorway.

“This way,” he whispered to the cats, leading them out of the back room and toward the far corner of the clinic.

Hunter glanced at the magical light and hissed but Rogue swatted him on the rump and looked pointedly at the clinic doors. In the dim light, Anders could just see that they were shuddering under the exertions of the men outside. As if to illustrate Rogue’s point, there was a loud crack! and the sound of renewed effort from the other side of the doors. Hunter growled again before turning to follow Anders reluctantly. From the corner of his eye, Anders thought he saw Rogue nip at Hunter’s ear to speed the other cat on as they followed behind him.

They reached the corner and Anders let the ball of light hover over his shoulder. He slid the fingers of his free hand along the wall. They stopped at a small knothole and he firmly pressed it with his thumb. A small hole, just wider than Anders’ shoulders, opened up next to him on the floor. He sent the light down into the hole and then turned to the cats, both staring down into it in fascination. Rogue looked up at him, eyes glowing softly in the dark.

“Quickly now!” Anders whispered.

He was glad that both cats jumped lightly into the hole at his direction. He did not like to think what the intruders would do to the cats just on the off chance it might bring Anders some sort of pain. He jumped in right after them, landing almost as lightly, though he could not avoid a soft grunt as the impact traveled through his body. Without hesitation, he turned and swung the panel of flooring shut again, sliding home the bar that locked it in place. He let out a sigh of relief and then sank to the floor. He had barely settled himself when there was a large crashing noise above them. Both cats jumped but neither made a sound. Booted footsteps thudded heavily into the clinic. Anders hesitated but then extinguished his ball of light with a sigh of regret. He had no desire to sit in the dark, but it would be foolish to risk recovery. Hopefully the intruders would be quick about their business once they realized he was not there. After a few very tense moments, a muffled bark came from above them.

“Doesn’t look like he’s here, ser! Bed’s cold, I’d say he’s been gone a while. Should we settle in to wait?”

Anders tensed. Maker, please no. He felt a weight on his leg and then a light tap on his cheek. Without thinking he reached down to pet the cat, thankful for the reassurance. He paused when he stroked one ear and found a tufted end. Not Rogue, Hunter. Anders blinked and glanced down, but all he could see was the shine of the cat’s eyes. Hunter purred softly and rubbed his head against Anders’ chest before settling down on his leg, the reassuring rumble continuing once he was in place. Rogue butted up against his other hand and then climbed into Anders lap. He could feel the two cats touch noses and then they settled in place, soothing Anders with their presence. His breathing eased a bit.

“No, that wasn’t what Ser Alrik wanted,” answered one of the other men from above.

Alrik! Anders sucked in a breath and his hand tightened in Rogue’s fur. So it was templars after all. He hadn’t really doubted, but confirmation of his suspicions made him no happier. He could feel Justice’s gathering indignation and silently begged the spirit, so quiet these last few days, to stay calm. They would not survive if they were discovered in this hole. He knew that as sure as he knew that Varric loved a good story. The templars above continued to discuss their options, unaware of their hidden audience.

“If he was here, we were just supposed to rough him up and trash the place. That’s why Alrik had us dress in plain clothes, so he wouldn’t know it was templars as did it.”

“Andraste’s ass, why not? He’s an apostate, isn’t he?”

“An apostate protected by the Champion, and one Meredith seems inclined to leave be so long as he’s running this clinic,” the leader said in disgust. “But Alrik doesn’t hold with that. While we can’t defy the Knight-Commander directly, there’s no reason to leave the apostate in peace though, is there?” There was a pause, accompanied by a chorus of agreement.

“So what now?” asked the first voice.

“Trash the place,” the leader replied. “May as well have some fun for our trouble, eh boys?”

The chorus of agreement was louder this time. Anders shut his eyes, though it made no difference in the dark, and bit his lip to keep his thoughts on the matter to himself. Rogue nuzzled his chin, offering a small bit of distraction as they listened to the sounds of the clinic being destroyed above. Anders wondered how long it would take to set everything to rights once more, to resupply. Longer than he would like, he was sure. At least everything important to him was either kept in this hole already or tucked away in similar hidden spaces throughout the clinic. He doubted the templars would find them. Eventually the sounds of destruction died down and he could hear the shuffling of feet as the templars regrouped.

“Well, that will keep him busy for a while, I’d imagine,” said the leader in smug satisfaction. “Bartley, you take up a watch outside nearby and keep an eye on the place for a couple more hours, just in case he comes back. Out this late, he might not be all that alert. Rough him up a little if you can get the drop on him.”

“Yes, ser!”

“The rest of you, with me. It’s best we get back to the Gallows.”

Anders ground his teeth in frustration. There would be no way to know when this Bartley finally left. That meant spending the rest of the night in this hole. Still…at least he wasn’t alone. The weight of both cats curled up against him was warm and comforting. Once the footsteps had all receded, he risked another ball of light, smaller than the first. The cats were both watching him with worried expressions. He tried to smile at them but couldn’t really manage.

“Well, boys,” he whispered softly, “I guess we’re sleeping here tonight.” Rogue nuzzled his side and Hunter hesitantly patted his hand with a paw. “Guess I should say thank you,” Anders added after a moment. “I think you two just saved my life.”

He settled into the corner of the hole as comfortably as he could and the cats readjusted around him. Reluctantly, he doused the light again, expecting a long sleepless night of waiting. He was wrong in this, however, as the soft reassuring purrs of his companions quickly lulled him into a sound, dreamless slumber.


	3. Chapter 3

Cleaning up the clinic kept him occupied for almost the entirety of the next day. Rogue and Hunter did not seem to want to let him out of their sight, and one or both of them followed closely behind him everywhere he went. It was probably for the best, he reflected, as otherwise he likely wouldn’t have remembered to take breaks for food or other necessities. In fact, the cats seemed intent on making sure he remembered. Likely they just wanted to make sure _they_ were fed as well, but he could admit that it was comforting to think they were looking out for him.

The damage done by the templars had been surprisingly superficial. All of the examination tables had been turned over, with a few broken here and there, but nothing he couldn’t fix. He would have to sterilize all of the bandages again, but it was better than trying to hunt down more. Even the potions, tonics, and ointments seemed to have survived largely intact, with only about a third of the bottles smashed when someone had pulled the shelves free of the wall. All of the loose herbs were scattered and crushed, but he had extra stores of most of them in another bolt-hole like the one in which he’d spent the night.

Still, there was much to be done, setting everything to rights and cleaning up the mess. More than one of his late-night visitors (Maker, he _hoped_ it had been more than one) had shit or pissed in various places, tracking through the offal and getting it everywhere. Rogue had been the first to discover that particular addition to the disorder, calling it to Anders’ attention with an indignant meow and primly stepping around it to the nearest clean patch of floor, disgust plain in his large blue eyes. Anders thought there was something particularly telling about how low the templars had sunk that they had managed to disgust a _cat_. His own quarters had fared the worst of the lot. If he had been in a position to doubt this had been a personal attack, what was done to his cot and blankets would have removed any uncertainty instantly. Anders sighed and opened up yet another hidden storage area (he was convinced that the clinic had been a stronghold for smugglers before he had claimed it) and pulled out one of the rickety cots he kept for patient overflow, as well as a few moth-eaten blankets that were, nonetheless, mercifully clean.

Thankfully, only a few residents of Darktown wandered in seeking treatment during the day, and those all minor injuries he could still tend to. They were aghast at the damage in the clinic but Anders tried to shrug it off, offering them as reassuring an attitude as he could muster. By the time he returned from a trip to the markets to replace what could not be restored, he was exhausted. He was half-inclined to just stay in for the night, Hawke and her card game be damned. But if he was honest with himself, he didn’t relish the idea of spending the night alone in the clinic just now. He craved the companionship of his friends, and even if Justice would not let him get drunk, he could at least have a glass or two of wine to calm his nerves a bit. He wrangled a small hip-tub over to the pump in the corner and filled it up, then used his magic to heat the water for a quick bath. It was not a luxury he often afforded himself, but even just that small measure left him feeling much more relaxed than he had all day.

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” he told Rogue in response to the cat’s anxious cry as he approached the clinic doors to leave. The two cats had finally left him alone when they saw Anders get the tub out, and he had spared a moment’s amusement to pretend they were affording him a bit of privacy. But now they paced before the doors, which thankfully had taken only minor damage in last night’s break-in. They had come off their hinges rather than actually breaking, and he’d only had to replace those and one of the bars. Hunter was eying the doors with an expression that on a human could have passed for worry as Anders shooed them outside. “Not to worry,” he said softly, reaching down to pat the cat’s head. He grinned when Hunter actually allowed this with no growls or swiping of paws. Instead the cat just looked at him as if in question. Shrugging, Anders told him, “I’ll put up a magical barrier to keep out any more unwanted visitors while we’re out.” The cat stared at him for a long moment, green eyes narrowed in thought, before giving a sharp nod. “So glad you approve,” Anders laughed.

Anders had grown used to the cats following him during his comings and goings, and he had little doubt that they would be able to keep up with him on the way to the Hanged Man. But still, he paused as they turned for the nearest route to Lowtown. This was the first time he’d ventured out at night since the pair had come to stay with him. He was sure they could take care of themselves, but…

“I could carry the pair of, you, you know,” he offered, gesturing to the large outer pockets of his oversized coat. This earned him two level stares of disapproval. “Fine, fine,” he agreed, holding up his hands in surrender. “But you are going to have to let me carry you to Varric’s rooms once we get to the tavern. Otherwise, if Corff sees you, he might just decide to make cat the special meat in his stew tomorrow.”

Rogue looked thoughtful at this and then he and Hunter exchanged a glance. Anders took the imperious meow he was given as agreement to the offer. He let out a small sigh of relief and they hurried off into the night. His bath had restored his spirits somewhat, but he was flagging again by the time they reached the Hanged Man. He was silently glad that the cats had declined his offer to carry them the whole way. Large as they were, it would have been too much of an extra burden. Still, he carefully scooped each up and put them in his pockets before going into the tavern.

He made a beeline for the second floor and the suite Varric kept there, pausing in the doorway to survey the group. Varric was regaling Hawke and Isabela with a tale about a dwarf who could not hold his drink while Merrill seemed occupied building a large tower out of the playing cards. She nodded absently to him and continued her construction project. Blinking slowly, Anders realized that was everyone who would have been expected. Aveline had been taking on extra patrols lately, and Sebastian and Fenris were still gone. Slowly, he made his way to a free chair and sank down into it gratefully. Hunter and Rogue scurried out of his pockets as soon as he sat down, drawing a surprised sound from Merrill. That, in turn, alerted the rest of the party to his presence.

“Anders,” Merrill said slowly, staring at the cats, “why do you—”

“Maker, Anders! What happened to you!” Hawke’s cry cut Merrill off and she jumped out of her chair to hover over him, a worried expression on her face.

“I’m fine,” he said, trying to wave her off. “I just had a visit at the clinic from some templars last night.” This drew startled cries from Isabela and Varric. Varric hurried to the cabinet where he kept his favorite liquors and poured Anders a shot of something clear and golden, pressing it into his hand insistently. Anders thanked him and took a swallow, relishing the burn of it going down before continuing. “I managed to hide before they found me, thanks to these two,” he gestured at the cats, “but they did a number on the clinic itself. I’ve only just managed to get it back in working order.”

“Why, in the Maker’s name, would the templars sack your clinic?” Hawke demanded, appalled. “I know for a fact that Meredith told them to leave you be!” She seemed personally offended at this breach of etiquette.

“Yes, well, not all of her men seem content with that order,” Anders answered with a wry smile. Hawke frowned and slouched back to her seat, arms crossed in annoyance. “I’m _fine_ ,” Anders assured her again, launching into the tale of what had happened.

Merrill, still staring at the cats, seemed oblivious to the commotion around Anders. She reached out as if to touch Hunter, but he hissed and swiped a paw at her, only missing because she seemed to be expecting the attack. The cat growled low in his throat and scuttled out of her vicinity to hop into Isabela’s lap. Shooting a glare at Merrill, he curled up and nuzzled the pirate’s hand when she began to pet him absentmindedly, attention focused on Hawke and Anders. Merrill then turned to watch Rogue. The brown cat was giving Varric a calculating look while he bustled around making sure everyone’s drinks were topped off. After a moment, he cautiously prowled to the corner where Bianca rested. He reached up one paw, lightly touching the crossbow’s cocking ring.

“Oh, no you don’t, boyo!” Varric swooped in and rescued the weapon with a glare at the cat. He hustled into the back room where he slept, presumably to secure Bianca from feline curiosity.

Rogue dropped down to all fours with a disappointed little huff, then wandered back to the table, hopping up in Anders’ lap as he finished his story. Merrill’s wide eyes followed the cat’s movements and she pursed her lips in thought.

“Well, aren’t you a good little guardian?” Isabela looked down at the cat in her lap with an appreciative grin. “I think you and your friend deserve a reward. I’ll have to think up something appropriate.”

Hunter rubbed his head against her breast and purred, drawing laughter from the rest of the group. That broke the tension, and even Hawke seemed willing to drop the matter in the wake of Anders’ insistence. Varric went back to the story he had been telling when Anders arrived, and they shared a few rounds of drinks before finally settling down to a game of cards (after liberating the deck from Merrill, of course).

~~~

Merrill had given up trying to get Anders’ attention after the first round of cards. He seemed determined to ignore her, focused instead on the game and their other companions. It seemed her efforts hadn’t gone wholly unnoticed, though. When she returned to Varric’s rooms after a visit to the water closet, she found the brown cat sitting outside the door, clearly waiting for her. She smiled and knelt on the ground in front of him, holding out a hand to let him sniff before giving in to the urge to scratch behind his ears.

“Hello, Sebastian,” she said softly. “You do make a rather pretty kitty, you know. So does Fenris, though I imagine he would not appreciate me saying so.”

“Meow?” He stretched up, front paws on her knees, blue eyes meeting green. The utter relief in that small sound almost broke her heart.

“Anders doesn’t know, does he?” A quick shake of his head and Merrill smiled sadly. “Goodness, Fenris must hate this.”

“Meow.” Agreement, this time.

“It is fairly obvious, if you know what to look for. But I suppose Anders hasn’t seen many people turned into animals,” she mused aloud, absently stroking his fur. “I can’t imagine the Circles are free with that kind of knowledge.” She looked down at him again. “Do you want me to tell him?”

Sebastian sat back down on all fours, head tilted in thought. After a moment the brown head shook back and forth slowly. _No._ Merrill nodded to herself. She had expected as much. He tapped her knee and looked at her hopefully, the question clear.

“I’m afraid I don’t know how to fix this, no. I’ve never heard of someone who wasn’t a mage turning into an animal, aside from werewolves. Which is obviously not the case here. Did you run afoul of some mage in your travels?” Another slow shake of the head. “Hmmm. Well, I suppose there’s no sense asking what you do remember. It would be rather hard to tell me just in meows.” Merrill tapped a finger to her lips, thinking. “I will look through the books I have, maybe pay a visit to the clan. If I can find a solution, I will.”

“Meow!” Sebastian rubbed his head against her knee and the smile she gave him was genuine.

“You’re quite welcome. I’m only sorry I don’t have an answer ready. But I suppose Anders is keeping you two safe and well cared for.” Sebastian purred in agreement and Merrill laughed. “Although it sounds like you two are returning the favor! Well, at least it must be a break from all of your worries.”

Sebastian huffed and swatted her knee, but there was no force in the blow. She smiled down at him and then stood, leading him back inside, her mind already full of thoughts about where to look first. It was certainly an interesting challenge. And perhaps trying to find a way to turn Sebastian and Fenris human again would provide a bit of a break from her own worries as well, at least for a time. Sebastian scuttled back to Anders, pawing at his leg until he sat back enough for the cat to have room in his lap. She shook her head, amused. Anders must be treating them very well, indeed, for those two to stay with him, even in their current state. Her glance fell on Fenris, happily curled up in Isabela’s lap, and the pirate met her eyes, winking. Hmm. Perhaps she wasn’t the only one to suspect the truth about Anders’ new feline friends after all.

~~~

Hawke and Isabela insisted on walking Anders and the cats back to the clinic. He tried to protest but neither one of them would take no for an answer. Not that he argued very hard, truth be told. He could admit that he would rather have backup if it turned out the templars had come back a second night to finish the job. He didn’t think they would, but, well, better safe than sorry. Hawke seemed surprised that he let the cats run free as they made their way back to Darktown, commenting that she thought he would have preferred carrying them.

“If they’d let me,” Anders said with a shake of his head, “but they won’t. Besides, they are capable enough, and they won’t stray too far from us. They’re extremely intelligent, you know.”

As if to confirm this observation, Rogue fell back a bit and rubbed up against Anders’ leg. He smiled down at the cat and was surprised when Hunter appeared from the shadows and repeated the action on his other side. The grey cat had been glued to Isabela’s side for almost the entire night, and Anders had been feeling a little bit jealous. But now that they were almost back home, it seemed he had decided to return is attention to Anders once more. He tried not to grin too widely about it as he reached down to scratch Hunter behind the ears. As he stood he caught Isabela’s eyes. She was watching him with a shrewd expression on her face, but there was amusement mixed in there as well.

“What?” He stood a little straighter, feeling inexplicably defensive.

“Mmm, nothing at all, sweet thing. I was just thinking how nice it is that you’ve found yourself such…loyal companions.” She grinned at him, amusement still clear on her face. “Quite lucky that, out of all of the people in Kirkwall, it was you they found, don’t you think?”

“Cats are quite good at finding the people who want them,” Anders argued.

Behind him, Hawke snorted, but he ignored the sound. Even if she hadn’t been raised in Ferelden, he suspected she would have ended up a dog person anyway. She’d paid hardly any attention to the cats at all, other than to eye them suspiciously a time or two when one got too close to her during the evening. Isabela loosed a low laugh and shook her head slowly back and forth. Rogue paused mid-step and turned to look at her, head tilted as if in consideration. Isabela noticed and winked at him, bending over to scratch beneath his chin.

“If you say so,” Isabela laughed.

She and Hawke waited while Anders took down his barrier and did a quick inspection of the clinic. Then they bid him and the cats goodnight and turned arm in arm back for “more civilized parts of the city.” Anders put up another barrier after closing and barring the doors, just for his peace of mind. Rogue and Hunter watched this process with apparent approval and then turned to follow him as he made his way back to his bedroom. He had managed to salvage their blanket nest, but both cats ignored it. Instead, they waited for Anders to settle himself in his rickety cot and then jumped up to join him. He half started in surprise but a plaintive meow from Rogue forestalled any objections he might have made. Rogue curled up against the curve of Anders’ belly and Hunter settled himself on the half of the pillow that was not occupied by Anders’ head. He had been worried that sleep would be long in coming, but between the added warmth of the cats and the steady reassuring sound of their purrs, Anders quickly found himself lost to the soundest night’s sleep he had enjoyed in years.


	4. Chapter 4

Anders awoke to the steady rhythm of something whapping him gently on the nose. He cracked open one eye in time to see something grey and furry descending in front of his face. Before Hunter’s tail could get him again, he rolled over and sat up. A large yawn escaped his lips as he stretched his arms, blinking down in surprise at both cats still happily curled up on the cot with him. A small smile crossed his face when he noticed that Hunter and Rogue had both stretched so that their paws were touching. Not for the first time, he wondered what their story was. He didn’t think they were from the same litter, but they were obviously close. Maker, how had they ended up in Darktown in the first place? He was glad they had found his clinic, though. There was no denying that.

He reached out a hand to stroke Rogue’s back but hesitated. A small frown flickered across his face and he could feel the stir of sensations that he still called Justice in the back of his mind. He wouldn’t be able to stay locked up in his clinic forever. There was work to be done, important work, and dangerous. As much as he might wish to, he couldn’t keep the cats, Even if they did want to stay. Which, he had to admit, it seemed that they did. What if something happened to him? Who would take care of them then? Even worse, what if something happened to _them_ because of him? It was like Pounce all over again, wasn’t it? There was nothing for it, he was going to have to find them a new home, and soon.

Perhaps Aveline might make a space for them at the Keep. Hunter was amazing at disposing of rats, there was no reason to think he wouldn’t make an excellent mouser as well. Rogue had a dignified enough bearing that Anders could easily see him pampered in some noble’s manse. Surely he would do well in the Keep, too. Anders doubted he would be willing to be parted from Hunter, after all. He idly wondered if Seneschal Bran liked cats. The man certainly didn’t care for _Fereldans_. Maybe that dislike extended to dogs, too. At the very least, the cranky seneschal could certainly benefit from a loving fuzzy companion. Anders fought back a smirk. He was less likely to pick up any embarrassing…conditions from cats than the company Anders knew he tended to keep. He decided to pay a visit to the Keep in the next day or so to talk to Aveline and test the waters. A nudge against his hand, still hovering in midair, drew him back to the present. Rogue was sitting in front of him, tail wrapped neatly around his paws as he looked up at Anders, blue eyes wide and alert.

“Mrow?”

“Sorry, boy,” Anders said, smiling fondly down at him. “Got a little lost in thought. I suppose you’re hungry, eh?”

He didn’t wait for a reply, getting up from the cot and stretching again. He ventured into the main room of the clinic. There was a soft thump behind him as Rogue jumped down to follow. A second thump followed seconds later. It seemed Hunter was awake now as well. Anders got breakfast sorted for everyone and lingered over a cup of tea as he watched the two cats eat neatly. _Aveline is awfully busy lately_ , he observed to himself. _I am sure I can afford to wait until things settle down a bit for her before I pay her a visit. A few more days won’t hurt anyone, surely._ Justice seemed to have no objection to this line of thought, or if he did, he did not bother to make it known. Anders shook his head sheepishly, knowing he was being silly and for once not really caring. Once the cats were done eating, he cleaned up from breakfast and then set about making himself and the clinic ready for another day of service to the denizens of Darktown.

~~~

A few days turned into a few weeks. As Anders had feared, life eventually came barging in to drag him out of the clinic. First, it arrived in the form of Hawke needing help with some slavers on the coast, and then with some apostates trying to travel through Kirkwall without attracting templar notice. One thing after another came up, and before he knew it, Anders had settled neatly back into his usual routine—as much as he had ever had one in Kirkwall—and Rogue and Hunter had settled right into it alongside him. Of course, when he first began venturing out again, he _tried_ to convince the cats to remain in the clinic while he was away. His efforts weren’t even mildly successful. After all, cats can’t really be reasoned with, no matter how intelligent.

In fact, as far as Anders was concerned, intelligence was a definite disadvantage in this situation. They _knew._ As soon as Hawke showed up asking for help, both cats slipped out of the clinic and refused to step foot back inside without Anders. They managed to evade all of his attempts to lock them up. Which, he could admit, he barely had the heart to do anyway. There was no tricking them as he might normally have done with other cats. These two were just too damned smart. He stopped thinking he was only pretending they could understand what he said and realized they actually _did_. In the end, it was easier just to let them come along, like he had with Pounce. And like Pounce, these two could hold their own quite well, thank you very much. In fact, they saved his ass on more than one occasion, interrupting attempts to sneak up on him from behind or serving as a distraction to allow him the chance to set a spell.

They didn’t just help Anders, either. They seemed to know exactly how to best help Hawke and all of the other companions. Rogue worked particularly well with Merrill, Anders was annoyed to see (not that he would admit that to anyone), and of course Hunter fought by Isabela every chance he got. It was downright uncanny, when Anders stopped to actually think about it. Like they weren’t really cats at all. Wondering if the spirit might have any answers, he tried to prod Justice about it, but to no avail. He _almost_ asked Merrill if she had any ideas. She seemed to get on so well with Rogue after all. But he wasn’t _that_ desperate. She would probably just have told him some nonsense Dalish legend and said they were some sort of creatures of the Creators or something. No help at all, really. Besides, they still followed him home every night. Still behaved (almost) like perfectly ordinary cats whenever there wasn’t battle to be had. They still curled up to sleep with him at the end of each day, somehow managing to keep the nightmares at bay.

Who was Anders to argue against companions like that?

The rest of his companions became used to their presence quickly, as well. Aveline had frowned and Hawke had been outright skeptical the first time the cats had tagged along to battle. But after that first time, neither of them said a word against the cats’ presence. Varric just teased Anders about training familiars, while Merrill treated Rogue and Hunter more like people than cats. Hunter still avoided her, but she could often be found talking to Rogue, the brown cat listening attentively as she rambled on about her visits to her clan or the latest book she had read.

Isabela seemed vastly amused by the whole thing. She often made excuses to visit the clinic, making no pretense that she was there to see Anders. She would just plop herself down in a vacant chair or corner and let the cats cuddle her while she sharpened her knives or just watched the comings and goings of Anders’ patients. On one memorable visit, she brought a few freshly caught fish as a special treat. Anders had watched in surprise as she took over the small corner of the clinic that passed for his kitchen, readying the fish to eat. After removing the scales and bones, she put a large portion on a plate for each cat and set them on the ground before turning to fry up the rest for Anders and herself.

Rogue had watched the whole process with great interest and approached his share eagerly. He sniffed about it curiously and prodded it gently with a paw before looking up at the watching humans. At Isabela’s nod, he gave the feline equivalent of a shrug before tucking in. Hunter, on the other hand had waited until Rogue finished his first few bites before moving to inspect his own plate. After a few tentative sniffs, he gave an angry hiss and turned, bolting for the bedroom.

“Imagine that,” Isabela had drawled, sounding not one bit surprised. “A cat that doesn’t care for fish. That one’s almost as bad as Fenris, hmm?”

Rogue looked up sharply at that, blue eyes narrowing at Isabela. She winked at him and grinned as she picked up Hunter’s plate, sliding the second fish onto Rogue’s dish.

“More for you then, eh, sweet thing? It seems you’ll eat like a prince tonight.”

“Mrow?” Rogue placed a paw on Isabela’s wrist and she smiled softly before patting his head.

“What an interesting pair you two make,” Isabela said slyly. “I do so wonder how you ended up here like this.” She arched an eyebrow but Rogue just gave a tiny shake of his head, blinking his large blue eyes slowly.

“Yes, I’ve often wondered that myself,” Anders agreed in a distracted tone. He glanced at the bedroom door with a small frown. “If he’s not going to eat the fish, I had better get him something else.”

In the end, Hunter took his meal in Anders’ room. He would not come near where the rest of them were eating their fish. Even Isabela could not coax him out of the back room. He took one sniff at her outstretched hand and hissed again before darting back under the cot. Isabela chuckled softly, apologizing for the smell of the fish that still lingered. A low growl and the gleam of two green eyes from the darkness were her only answer.

Sometimes she talked to the cats, giving them the rundown on all of the current Kirkwall gossip, or about any outings that Anders had skipped. But usually she just sat quietly, petting them when her hands were free, or letting them curl up on her (Hunter always in her lap, Rogue never seemed to fight him for that honor) when she was working on something. Occasionally, Rogue would leave her to follow Anders around, and Anders would catch Isabela watching them both with a speculative expression.

“They do seem happy here,” she mused one night. Glancing down at Hunter, purring contentedly in her lap, she scratched behind his ears. “Even this one, and I don’t think he’s the sort to stick around somewhere unless he truly wishes to.”

“Well, the two of them don’t seem to want to be apart from each other for long. I suspect that’s the only reason he stayed, at least to start with.” Anders allowed himself a small smile. He reached out to scratch under Hunter’s chin, receiving a small purr in reply. “But I do think he has warmed up to me a little by now.”

“It seems miracles do exist,” Isabela smirked. Rogue uttered a small huff at that and Isabela let out a loud laugh, reaching down to pet him as well. As she was leaving that night, she pulled Anders aside and said softly, “Keep them safe, Anders, and close. For me?”

“Of course,” he had answered, taken aback by her sudden seriousness. “I won’t let any harm come to them.”

“Good.” She kissed him on the cheek and slipped away into Darktown.

~~~

Anders could not remember having felt so content since before joining with Justice. For a time, he lost himself in the simple pleasures of running the clinic and enjoying the company of this marvelous and strange pair of cats that had adopted him. Like his time with the Wardens, however, the happy period was a brief one, and could not last. At least when everything came crashing down around him _this_ time, no one died. Although if anyone could actually die of embarrassment, he suspected it would have come dreadfully close. One night, he went to sleep with Rogue curled up in the curve of his stomach and Hunter stretched out along his back. The next morning, however, he woke up to find himself face to face with one very warm, very naked, Sebastian Vael, fast asleep and smiling peacefully. In an instant, understanding flashed through him, and his eyes widened as he realized just who was likely the source of the warm weight pressed against his back. A careful glance down confirmed this suspicion. One brown arm, marred by white streaks of lyrium, was thrown casually about Anders’ waist, fingers linked loosely with those of Sebastian’s nearest hand.

Anders tried to keep his calm, he truly did, but it was a lost cause. A startled cry escaped his lips before he could stop it. Sebastian’s eyes flew open and Anders scrambled to sit up, trying to worm his way out from between the two men. The cot, barely sturdy enough to support Anders and two large cats, had never been meant for holding three fully grown men. It gave an ominous creak and then simply gave up the fight. Wood splintered and the three of them crashed to the floor in a tangle of canvas and blankets and naked limbs. Anders scooted as far away as he could, though he was hampered by the blankets wrapped around his waist. Sebastian had managed to sit up and was staring down at his hands with a small smile of wonder. A confused stream of cursing was coming from beneath another blanket, followed shortly by Fenris’ head appearing. Green eyes glared at everyone and everything in sight, before pausing on Sebastian and widening in surprise. Anders tried to think of something clever to say, desperate to diffuse the situation, but he failed at achieving even remotely coherent.

“How—?”

“Merrill must have figured out how to reverse the spell,” Sebastian said with a pleased grin. “I knew she’d find the answer eventually.”

“What spell?” Anders demanded. “And what does _Merrill_ have to do with this?”

“Merrill knew about this?” Fenris spat at the same time. “Why didn’t you tell me? What took her so long?”

Sebastian raised an amused eyebrow, apparently completely oblivious to the absurdity of the situation. Or the fact that he was utterly naked and not in the least bit covered by any of the blankets. Anders wrenched his eyes to Sebastian’s face and held them there as the other man looked between him and Fenris. He seemed to be deciding which question to answer first.

“Fenris and I were returning to Kirkwall some time ago,” he began after a moment, “and we took refuge in a cave near Sundermount when we were caught by a storm.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “There was some kind of magical ward or trap in that cave, though. I think we must have crossed its threshold when we were—” Now he did pause, glancing over at Fenris and blushing. Anders eyebrows shot up as he realized the elf was blushing as well, the very tips of his ears a dark pink. Sebastian cleared his throat and continued. “Well. The next thing we knew, we were cats. As soon as the storm abated, we made our way here as quickly as we could. I was hoping you would recognize us and be able to restore us to our normal state. Since Fenris followed without much argument, I assume he held the same hope. We could not exactly speak to one another as we were, you see. Which is why I could not tell you about Merrill.” He raised an eyebrow at Fenris and the elf sighed, nodding.

“What about Merrill, exactly?” Anders asked in a strangled voice. All this time? Not cats. Not cats _at all_ , but Sebastian and Fenris. His constant companions. Sleeping _in his bed_. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh or faint from the shock. He had known they weren’t normal cats, had even been reminded of the two men, but he had never actually thought—”Oh, Maker,” he groaned, burying his hands in his face.

“Merrill recognized us when you took us to the card night,” Sebastian said delicately. Anders screwed his eyes shut, trying to find a logical reason for why she would have seen what he had not. Sebastian continued his explanation, “She has been researching since then to try to determine how we were changed, and how to change us back.” He paused, and Anders opened his eyes, seeing a small frown on the other man’s face. “Though, the last time she spoke with me she said she still had not had much luck. She seemed, quite frankly, a bit shocked that someone had discovered a way to turn _other_ people into animals.”

“I have never heard of any such spell either,” Anders said tiredly. “The commander had a friend who could shift her own shape, apparently. But turning someone else…” He frowned in thought, embarrassment lessening as the mystery engaged his mind. “The mana such a spell would involve…”

“That is much what Merrill said,” Sebastian agreed. “She was fairly certain it was blood magic. I can’t help but wonder what is in that cave that someone so clearly wanted to keep hidden.”

“We should have stayed to search that cave after we were changed,” Fenris scowled. He turned his frown on Anders. “Why was she able to recognize us so quickly, and not you? You even _said_ we reminded you of ourselves. How did you never put the pieces together?”

“Fenris.”

Sebastian said the word softly but it was enough to stop Fenris’ rant. His shoulders slumped and he sighed.

“Forgive me,” he said softly, catching Anders’ eyes. “Knowing us or not, you cared for us, kept us safe and gave us shelter when we could not do for ourselves. Thank you.”

“Of course,” Anders said faintly, caught off guard by the sincerity in Fenris’ voice. “I would have done the same if I _had_ known, you know,” he said softly. He surprised himself with a small smile. “Although I would have been far more surprised when you both started sleeping in my bed with me.” He arched an eyebrow and Fenris flushed an even deeper red this time. Sebastian laughed, shrugging when Anders looked at him.

“It took too long to wake you when the templars came,” he said. “This seemed like it would save some time should it happen again.” Anders’ eyebrow remained arched, unconvinced. Sebastian shrugged again and added, “Besides, you were warm, and there was more room to stretch out in the cot.” He glanced down at the ruins of the cot in question, a sheepish grin crossing his face. “Perhaps, in thanks, you’ll let me see to getting you a new bed?”

“It isn’t necessary,” Anders said, smiling back. He held up a hand when Sebastian began to speak, “But I won’t object if you want to. I have no desire to sleep on the floor if it I don’t have to.” A thought occurred to him and he tilted his head. “Why didn’t Merrill tell me? About the two of you?”

“She tried to, at first,” Sebastian admitted. “But you wouldn’t listen to her.”

“Ah,” Anders said. Well, that was probably true. He remembered talking himself _out_ of asking Merrill about magical creatures when it became clear that Rogue and Hunter—well, Sebastian and Fenris, and wow, that was going to take some getting used to—were not ordinary cats.

“I, um, may have told her not to tell you, when she asked if I wanted her to,” Sebastian admitted after a moment. He looked up, meeting Anders’ eyes again. “You seemed happy of the company, and it didn’t seem like there was any urgency to the matter. No one really seemed to miss us,” he said sadly. Then a small smile crossed his face. “Except, apparently, you.”

“Not even Isabela,” Fenris sighed, looking disgruntled.

Sebastian grinned and Anders’ brows drew together. He recalled Isabela’s last visit and her parting request. Ah, of course.

“I am fairly sure she has suspected the truth for a while now, actually,” Sebastian said. Anders could tell he was trying not to laugh, especially when Fenris’ eyes widened. “I do not know if Merrill told her or if she guessed on her own, though.”

Fenris growled and stood abruptly. He shook off the blanket that was still wrapped around him and whirled on his heels, heading for the main clinic.

“Where are you going?”

Sebastian was up and after him like a bolt. Anders sighed and stood, following them out. Once through the door, he turned and made his way to a small chest tucked neatly in with the rest of his supplies. The chest was full of assorted bits of clothing. Sometimes, the clothing a patient arrived in would be soiled or damaged beyond repair by the time the patient was ready to leave again. Anders collected whatever stray pieces he could find for an affordable price (or for free—Hawke kept bringing him old torn trousers for some reason, though he couldn’t complain, so he just cleaned and mended them and added them to the chest). That way none of his patients had to leave the clinic half-dressed. As he rummaged about inside of the chest, he kept half an ear on the two men behind him.

“I need to have words with a certain pirate,” Fenris told Sebastian dryly.

“Fenris, it isn’t as if she could have done anything about it. There’s no sense being mad at her.”

“I’m not mad.” He paused, “Well, maybe I am, a little, though not for what you think. But that’s not what I need to speak with her about.”

“Then what? Surely not--” Sebastian caught sight of Anders approaching and made a strange little coughing sound. Fenris ignored the odd behavior.

“I need to make sure she hasn’t told anyone _else_. The last thing we need is all of Kirkwall knowing about this whole debacle.”

“Well you’re not going out like that,” Anders said as he joined them. “I daresay you’d attract even more attention than if people knew you’d spent the last month as a cat.”

Fenris glanced down, finally seeming to realize that he was naked. He cursed softly but shrugged, clearly not sure what he was expected to do about the situation. Anders handed him a folded pile of clothing.

“They’re nothing fancy, I’m afraid, but they’re clean, and should fit. At least well enough to get you to the Hanged Man.”

Fenris accepted the clothing with muttered thanks and hastily donned the loose trousers and shirt. Anders handed a set to Sebastian as well, the prince accepting his more graciously.

“Thank you, Anders. For everything.”

There was a scraping sound and they turned to see Fenris removing the bar from one door. He did not look back as he threw it open, clearly ready to be gone. Anders quickly dispelled the barrier he had in place outside so that Fenris wouldn’t run into it. Then he turned back to find Sebastian, dressed now, watching him rather than the retreating form of Fenris.

“What will you do now?” Anders asked, feeling the need to make conversation.

“I should probably let Merrill know that whatever she tried worked,” he answered with a small smile. “Then, I think I shall go and retrieve our belongings from the cave where we were changed. After that,” he shrugged, and Anders thought he caught a glimpse of sadness in his eyes, “well, back to life as usual, I suppose.”

“You shouldn’t go to the cave alone,” Anders said after a moment. “Just in case there are more traps in place. Give me a moment, and I’ll come with you, if you don’t mind.” _I’ve some questions for Merrill as well,_ he thought to himself as he turned for his bedroom. He tried not to notice the way the tension seemed to leave Sebastian at his suggestion.

“Of course,” Sebastian agreed readily, a wide smile spreading across his face.

 


	5. Chapter 5

“So…”

Anders started when they emerged from Darktown. He glanced sideways at Sebastian, relieved to see that the other man appeared no worse for his time spent as a cat. In fact, he observed, fighting back a smirk, the prince was looking just a little bit wider around the middle. He quite suddenly wanted to point out that Sebastian had made quite a _good_ cat, really, but he wasn’t sure how that would be taken. Fighting down the pang that came with the realization that he had lost his furry companions at last, he continued with his original line of thought.

“You and Fenris, hmm?”

“Ah, yes.” The corners of Sebastian’s mouth quirked up and an expression somewhere between sheepishness and satisfaction crossed his face. “More or less.”

“Huh. I always thought he would end up with Isabela, for some reason.”

“They were,” Sebastian said after clearing his throat. “Or are, I suppose, depending on how their discussion is going.” His eyes drifted in the direction of the Hanged Man. Then he noticed Anders’ confused stare and shrugged. “They had an understanding, you see. No…commitments, shall we say?” He shrugged again, adding, “Isabela,” as if that explained everything. Anders supposed it did.

“Oh. But what about your, erm…” Anders waved a hand in the direction of the Chantry. Sebastian’s eyes followed and he sighed.

“I was released from my vows when my family was murdered,” he said softly. “After all, I cannot expect to take my seat as Prince if I am unwilling to produce heirs.”

“I can’t say Fenris would be very helpful in that regard,” Anders observed with a smirk, unable to stop himself. He half expected Sebastian to snap at him, but instead the other man laughed loudly.

“No, likely not,” Sebastian agreed. His face turned momentarily serious, and he paused at the top of the stairs leading to the Alienage. “He is well aware of the obligations I will hold if I am restored to my throne. But I love him, and he, well,” that small smile again. “It seems foolish to not be together now, while we have the chance. He understands. And I know that, should we be forced to part, he will not be without comfort.”

“I see.”

Anders tried to ignore the sharp jolt of pain caused by Sebastian’s admission of love for Fenris. After all, he mused, it shouldn’t really have come as a surprise. The two men had always been obviously close. Even as cats, they had been all but inseparable. When they had been sleeping in Anders’ bed, not a morning had gone by that he did not wake to find the two cats touching. It was easy enough to recall their linked hands this morning, too. Still, since discovering the cats’ true identities, he had been starting to entertain the foolish notion that, just maybe, Sebastian had come to care for _him_ over the course of the last month. As Rogue, he had certainly shown plenty of affection for Anders, and had always been a comforting presence. Silly, to hope that might translate into human emotions as well, and yet the hope had been there all the same. He reminded himself of all of the reasons that infatuation with Sebastian was a very bad idea. Then he reminded himself that Sebastian and Fenris were clearly good for each other. Who was he to get in the way of that? If all that came out of this was that he reached some level of respect with the other two men, that would be enough.

They reached Merrill’s door and he let out a little sigh as he stretched out a fist to knock. From the corner of his eye, he caught Sebastian watching him. His blue eyes were full of concern and his head was tilted in an all too familiar gesture. Sebastian looked as if he was about to say something, but before he could do more than open his mouth, Merrill’s door swung open.

“Oh, hello Anders! Sebastian.”

She smiled warmly at them, stepping back to welcome them into her house. Anders felt momentarily ashamed of himself. Despite his less than kind treatment of her, Merrill was always warm and welcoming to him. If he hadn’t been so determinedly avoiding her the last month, she might have been able to help restore Sebastian and Fenris much sooner than she had. But just being around her, knowing that she was a blood mage, tended to set him on edge. Part of it, he thought, was Justice. The spirit blamed the actions of blood mages for much of the oppression that mages endured. Even now, he could feel the spirit’s anger stirring up and he felt that familiar itch at the back of his neck that he always got in Merrill’s presence.

He did his best to ignore it while he and Sebastian strode toward the large table that occupied most of Merrill’s main room. It was littered with books, parchment, bits of plants, and other odd trinkets. Despite his discomfort, a small smile crossed his face as he realized how well the disorder seemed to reflect Merrill’s own often distracted air. Merrill hummed softly to herself as she closed the door behind them. As she turned back toward them, she glanced at Sebastian again and went very still. Her eyes widened and she let out a small gasp of surprise, as if she had only just noticed that something was different.

“Sebastian! You’re human again!”

“I am,” he agreed with a smile. “Fenris as well. I came to let you know, and to thank you.”

“But you didn’t actually do anything, did you?” Anders asked her, narrowing his eyes in realization. She was far too surprised to see Sebastian walking through her door on two legs instead of four.

“Creators, no! I haven’t tried any new spells in days. I haven’t been able to find _anything_ about turning other people into animals. Well, save for a few stories about werewolves. But those texts weren’t very helpful.”

“Hmm.” Anders rubbed his chin in thought.

“But…” Sebastian looked back and forth between them. “How in the Maker’s name did we change back?”

“Temporary curse, you think?” Anders asked Merrill. “Just wore off?”

“Perhaps,” Merrill mused. “It could have been a trap of some sort. Maybe that could mean it was only temporary, or that the effects couldn’t last forever beyond the place where the transformation initially took place. The spell must have required so much mana in the first place, to affect anyone who wasn’t a mage…” She shook her head, clearly bewildered by the whole situation.

“What about Fenris’ markings?” Anders suggested.

Both Sebastian and Merrill turned to him in surprise. It was obvious that neither had taken that into account. He couldn’t blame them. It had just dawned on _him_ to wonder if that was not, in fact, why Justice had been so quiet for the last month. Proximity to Fenris had always tended to lull the spirit somewhat. That much constant exposure…well. Belatedly, he thought to wonder if that hadn’t had something to do with his own slowness on the uptake. It was certainly a preferable explanation to him being so damned hungry for feline companionship that he willfully ignored the truth right in front of his eyes. Seeing that Merrill and Sebastian were still staring, he shrugged and tried to explain his idea.

“Maybe all of that lyrium amplified the original spell, somehow.”

“What do you mean?” Sebastian asked, voice full of curiosity.

“Well, when I was a Warden,” he began (Sebastian’s ears perked up and he leaned forward slightly, causing Anders to suppress a smile), “I once encountered a pair of Avvar statues who could think and speak. They claimed they had once been men, and had been turned to stone by a magister. Maybe the spell in the cave was some similar working.” He turned to Merrill. “Sebastian said you suspected blood magic. The caves near Sundermount have often been used by magisters, haven’t they?”

“Hmm,” Merrill moved thoughtfully to a stack of books on the floor and brought a massive tome to the table. Flipping it open, she riffled through the pages until she found what she was looking for. “Do you mean these statues, in the Winding Woods?” She pointed to a rough sketch, and Anders peered over her shoulder, nodding in surprise.

“How interesting!” Merrill exclaimed. “A member of the clan encountered them years ago, but no one ever believed him.” She closed the book and tapped her lips with one slim finger. “Well, perhaps you are right, and the extra lyrium somehow kept Fenris and Sebastian from becoming statues. I cannot imagine why they became _cats_ , though. But…” she frowned and glanced at Sebastian.

“It might explain why Fenris didn’t become a statue,” Sebastian said, frowning as well. “But not me.”

“Well,” Anders coughed to hide his grin. “If I understood what you said this morning correctly, you and Fenris were rather…close at the time of the transformation. I would guess that led to you being protected by his lyrium as well.”

“Oh, well.” Sebastian had turned an interesting shade of red. Merrill looked between the two of them, plainly confused. Sebastian cleared his throat. “Yes, I suppose that could, erm.” He coughed again, trying to regain his composure, then glanced back up at them. “I don’t understand why the spell would just suddenly wear off as it has, though. But I’m not going to quibble with it now that I’m not a cat anymore.”

“No, I suppose not,” Merrill said sadly.

Anders glanced at her in confusion. Why would _Merrill_ be sad about Sebastian and Fenris being human again? Certainly, _he_ was feeling a bit of loss, but that was understandable, wasn’t it? But knowing, now, who they had been all along, well. He couldn’t very well wish for them to go on being cats, could he? Sebastian shot Merrill a small smile of reassurance and shrugged.

“Well,” Anders said after a few moments of awkward silence. “I am doubly interested to see this cave, now.”

“Perhaps you will find some answers that Fenris and I could not,” Sebastian said with a nod of agreement.

~~~

Upon learning of their intent to return to the cave, Merrill had offered to accompany them as well. But Sebastian had quite kindly, if firmly, turned her down. Anders tried not to feel relieved at that, but he wasn’t very successful. He assumed Sebastian would want Fenris to join them, but when he mentioned it, Sebastian merely shook his head.

“No, let him have his reunion with Isabela,” he had smiled. “Besides, if it was his lyrium that did this, best not to chance it happening again.”

Anders certainly wasn’t inclined to argue with that logic. If it meant a little bit of extra time alone with Sebastian, he wasn’t inclined to argue against _that_ either.

“I should be able to shield us both when we reach the cave,” Anders mused, “to keep the transformation from happening again.”

“Maker, I hope so,” Sebastian said with a wry grin. “If the original spell really is meant to turn people into statues, I’ve no wish to get caught up in its full effect.”

Before leaving the city, Sebastian insisted on returning to the Chantry to retrieve some more suitable clothing (not to mention shoes—”I don’t know how Merrill and Fenris can stand it, going barefoot all of the time!”). While he was doing that, Anders paid a visit to the market to buy them some food for the journey. Even if they made it to the cave that night, which he thought unlikely, they would certainly not be able to return to Kirkwall before the next day. Sebastian found him in the market and smiled in approval when Anders showed him the supplies. He lifted up a plain bow and quiver of arrows that he had brought along to show he had been thinking along the same lines.

“It isn’t Grandfather’s bow, but it will serve until I can retrieve the rest of my things,” he told Anders.

Anders had to marvel at the prince’s optimism that his belongings _would_ all still be in the cave to be found. Then again, he reflected, odds were that anyone else stumbling in that cave would have been hit by the same spell that got Sebastian and Fenris. So maybe he was right to be so optimistic, after all. It took them almost two days to find the cave where Sebastian and Fenris had been transformed. Once they got close, it was easy enough for Anders to locate the entrance. The magic radiating from within set Anders’ teeth on edge. He wouldn’t have gone near the place without a damned good reason.

“Maker’s breath! How did you get Fenris in this place?” Anders groaned as the reached the mouth of the cave. “All of his lyrium must have been screaming in resonance with the magic in there.” He turned to Sebastian, eyes wide. “For that matter, I’m surprised you can’t feel it _without_ any magic of your own. I’ve never felt anything this strong outside of the Circle.”

“I can feel…something,” Sebastian admitted, brows furrowed. “It certainly isn’t pleasant. But we were so distracted that night,” he explained to Anders. “The storm was quite intense, and we were soaked, and freezing, and we just wanted shelter. Once we were inside, it was so good just to be dry again that even the unpleasantness seemed better than the alternative.”

Shaking his head, Anders cast a protective shield around himself. He then cast one for Sebastian as well. Safe from the effects of any outside magic, they carefully entered the cave, using a torch that Sebastian had cobbled together along the way for light. Anders was glad of it. He didn’t think he would have been able to concentrate on their shields and providing light for them at the same time. The cave was fairly large, he thought it was about the size of his clinic. Along the wall opposite the entrance, he caught a glint of metal. Approaching cautiously, he bent over and found that the glint had come from Sebastian’s armor, neatly piled up beside a rock. His bow and Fenris’ sword lay nearby. Not far away, he could see the remains of a fire, as well as two sets of clothing spread out as if to dry. It didn’t seem as if anyone else had been in the cave since Sebastian and Fenris, at least. He looked around a little further, still able to feel the magic, but not finding any obvious source of it in this half of the cave.

“Maker!”

Anders wheeled around at Sebastian’s soft exclamation and his jaw dropped. He stepped over to join the other man and was almost bowled over by the malevolent wave of magic that crashed into him. A glyph of some sort, a big one, covered the floor of this half of the cave. If he and Sebastian hadn’t been shielded…

“Andraste’s ass!” Anders grabbed Sebastian’s arm, ignoring the look of disapproval his curse received, and moved the torch lower to the ground so that he could see better. At least a dozen stone cats littered this half of the cave. Along the far wall, he could just make out a break in the rock. At first glance, it seemed to just be a crack, but the more he looked, the more he became convinced it was a narrow opening, probably leading into another chamber. It was the only explanation for the placement of the glyph, in his opinion. “I suppose whoever set this didn’t believe in ‘keep out’ signs,” he said dryly.

“What?”

“It’s a glyph,” Anders explained. He directed Sebastian’s attention toward the opening in the wall. “Meant to keep people from going through that, I’d wager. Though why the mage that cast this felt the need to turn any would-be thieves into statues of cats is beyond me. He could have just used a repulsion glyph, or set it to trap them. Unable to move, eventually they’d have all just wasted away to piles of bones. Which would have been an effective enough warning, I would think.” He sighed and shook his head.

“Maybe he just likes cats,” Sebastian offered with an impish smile. “He wouldn’t be the first mage to have a soft spot for them.” Ignoring Anders snort, Sebastian’s face turned serious again and he added, “Perhaps he didn’t want to risk anyone figuring out how to get out of the trap and escaping to tell someone about this cave?”

“Which,” Anders snorted again, “is exactly what happened anyway. Bastard was probably just showing off.”

“Well, I am sure he never expected someone like Fenris to get caught in his trap,” Sebastian said.

“Does anyone ever expect someone like Fenris?”

“No, I suppose not.” Sebastian smiled then, a small, sweet, happy smile that made Anders look away. He felt as if he was intruding on something private just by seeing that look on Sebastian’s face. He only turned back when Sebastian asked him, “Can you counter this spell?”

“Hmm.” Anders closed his eyes, trying to feel the magic, to see what the magister had done, exactly. Opening them, he said, “I think so. At its heart, the spell is just a glyph, powerful or not. It should be simple enough to dispel it. I’ll have to drop our shields, though. It’s going to take all of my concentration.”

“Is that wise?” Sebastian’s eyebrows shot up. “Won’t we just be caught up in it ourselves?”

“No,” Anders shook his head. “It doesn’t take up the whole cave.” He gestured back toward Sebastian’s belongings. “If the two of you hadn’t managed to cross the edge of it, you might have escaped the cave unscathed. But we just need to step out of range, and we’ll be safe enough.”

They moved back to the remains of the fire. Anders motioned for Sebastian to press up against the wall furthest from the glyph, just to be on the safe side, and when he was satisfied they were both clear of the spell, he dropped the shields. Turning his concentration to the glyph, he began the work of undoing it. The minutes stretched out, silence filling the cave except for the beating of his own heart and Sebastian’s steady breathing. As the last of the malevolent magic was finally dispelled, and Anders let out a deep sigh.

“It is done,” he said tiredly. “No one else will be caught by that spell.”

“I am glad to hear it,” Sebastian said, stepping up beside him and offering him an arm. Anders accepted it gratefully, leaning against the other man as tiredness washed over him. That had been an exhausting bit of magic to tangle with. He felt as if he’d just done battle with a dragon. Sebastian glanced around the cave, a small frown on his face. “The statues are still here. I had thought…”

“The transformation was permanent, it looks like,” Anders said with a small shake of his head. “I was afraid that might be the case. Even if it could be reversed, I have no idea where we would begin. Given how fruitless Merrill’s own search was, I suspect we won’t be able to find anything that would help us in this case, either.”

“No,” Sebastian said, thoughtful. “I suppose not.” A strange look crossed his face, but it was gone quickly. Turning to Anders with an easy grin, he cocked one eyebrow and tilted his head toward the opening in the far wall. “Well? Shall we find out what all of this trouble was about?”

“We might as well,” Anders agreed with a laugh. “But if the only things back there are some cracked gemstones and a few pairs of dirty trousers, I think I might have to just set the whole lot on fire.”

Sebastian’s answering laugh sent a warming tingle all the way down to his toes.

“Hawke would never forgive you!”

“She’d get over it eventually.”

~*~

The magister who had set the transformation glyph must have been a paranoid one, Anders reflected once they’d finally left the cave. He’d had to undo three more magical traps before they found the stash that all of the spells had been meant to protect. Thankfully, none of them had been nearly as draining to undo as the glyph, and Anders had managed to find them before he or Sebastian set them off. _Still can’t decide if it was worth all of the effort or not_ , he grumbled to himself afterward. While the cave had contained far more than cracked gemstones and torn trousers, very few of the items inside would have been considered of actual use to anyone who didn’t happen to be a blood mage. Which made Anders doubly glad Sebastian had refused Merrill’s company on the trip. Not that she would have objected to him destroying those grimoires (he hoped), but she certainly wouldn’t have taken it with the same calm approval that Sebastian had showed. He was trying very hard not to think about how giddy that approval had made him feel. It wasn’t as if he needed Sebastian’s approval for anything. Still, it had been nice all the same. The two of them were usually so much at odds regarding magic. To be on the same page for once was quite a refreshing change.

Although, he reflected, another party member would have been rather useful when that arcane horror had popped up after he’d set the books to the flames. Even Merrill would not have hesitated to attack that demon. Sebastian had been ready for it though, and had filled it with arrows before Anders had even had a chance to react. It had bought him the time to gather his own defense, and distracted the demon sufficiently to mean that Anders had only needed one attack to put it down for good. It reminded him of how well he had worked with Sebastian in battle when he had been Rogue. If the archer hadn’t known Anders’ strengths and weaknesses in battle before his transformation, he had certainly learned them during it. Strange, to have someone to rely on without even needing to think about it.

Anders had ended up destroying most of the magister’s loot, in the end. Aside from the grimoires, there had been several enchanted items that he didn’t want to risk getting into the wrong hands. But there had also been a decent amount of gold and silver, and after ensuring that it was not in any way enchanted, he and Sebastian had agreed that they would take that and split it with Fenris. It was only fair, really, considering all of the trouble that magister had caused the three of them. Idly Anders wondered if he was still alive, or if the traps were a remnant of some long forgotten enchanter.

They managed to make much better time getting back to Kirkwall than out to the cave, despite carrying Fenris’ sword and other belongings (Sebastian had donned his own before leaving the magister’s lair). Anders was already thinking fondly of a nice warm bath by the time they reached the clinic. Sebastian had insisted on escorting him home, and Anders had assumed he would be off as soon as Anders was seen safely inside. Instead, the prince followed him through the door, setting the bar once he was through as well. He turned and leaned against the door, arms crossed over his chest, and gave Anders a look that had him feeling very warm indeed. He really shouldn’t be allowed to look at people like that when he already had a lover. Even if said lover was currently engaged with a certain beautiful pirate queen…

“Sebastian?” He blushed at the rawness in his voice and cleared his throat. Trying again, he asked, “Did you need something?”

“You know, Isabela is not the only one that Fenris has an understanding with.” Sebastian’s voice was even warmer than his look, and filled with a slyness that Anders had never heard from him before.

“Um, I. What?”

“You’ve been muttering about a bath since we reached Darktown,” Sebastian added in an apparent change of subject. “A bath sounds quite lovely, after all of the running around we’ve done these last few days.” His eyes flicked to the corner where Anders usually bathed. “It might be…cozy. But that tub is big enough for both of us, I’d say. I’ll wash your back if you get mine?”

Okay, then. Maybe he hadn’t been changing the subject after all. Anders’ eyes widened and so did Sebastian’s grin.

“You want? But, I didn’t think, that is,” Anders sputtered. He realized what a fool he sounded and took a deep breath. Trying something else, he adopted a teasing tone, instead. “ _I’m_ not liable to help you with producing an heir either, you know.” He cocked an eyebrow and Sebastian shrugged, but the fire in his eyes did not dim. He wanted this just as much as Anders did, it seemed. So the only real question Anders had was, “Why?”

“You are a good man, Anders.” Sebastian pushed himself from the door and crossed the room in two long strides. He placed his hands lightly on Anders’ shoulders. “It’s not just that you took us in and cared for us when you didn’t even realize who we were—although I don’t think you will ever realize how much we are in your debt for that—” He placed a finger to Anders’ lips when he would have spoken, continuing. “I have always known you cared for mages, but I confess that I thought you cared for them to the exclusion of all else. This last month I’ve seen just how wrong I was in that assumption. I owe you an apology, as well as thanks, truly.”

He let go of Anders, stepping back and shaking his head slightly. He began to pace, speaking now as if he was sorting things out for himself, as much as explaining his desire.

“I might never have seen, had it not been for that blighted magister. But you are kind, and you care for people. All people. You help those who cannot help themselves. You risk your own life, your own freedom, that thing you value more than anything else, to offer healing to these people who have nothing. You give so much of yourself to this clinic, and then when Hawke comes to ask for help, you agree without a second of hesitation. Even though it might interrupt your work towards your own goals. Even though there is every chance you might not survive those encounters. Your life is harder than you ever let on, yet you do not dwell on it. You continue to work to make things better for others. And I have personally seen how much affection you have to give. That…touched me, I confess. I would never have expected… There is so much more to you than I ever believed, Anders, and I find myself wanting…” He stopped and turned, offering Anders a helpless sort of smile, sweet and honest and full of hope. “I want you.”

“Oh,” Anders said faintly. “Is that all?”

Sebastian just stared at him, waiting, before approaching him slowly. Not really thinking about it, Anders reached up to cup Sebastian’s face, sliding his fingers through the chestnut hair. Sebastian leaned into the touch, eyes drifting shut, and Anders grinned. He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to Sebastian’s lips. Sebastian sighed and returned the kiss, just as gentle. His eyes opened and Anders pulled back enough to smile at him.

“Well, come on then. That bath won’t ready itself.”

They took it in turns to undress each other, eyes and hands exploring. Fingers traced old scars with curiosity, soft sighs or twitches gave away the discovery of a sensitive spot. The trace of hands over a hip, the light scrape of fingernails up a spine, a quick kiss between one garment and the next being removed. Sebastian had been right, the bath was quite cozy indeed, but they made quick work of it. There was little in the way of talking as they cleaned up. Instead they conversed with their hands, their eyes, soft moans of pleasure as a back was scrubbed clean. As with undressing, they helped each other to dry off as well, laughing softly when balance became awkward. But always one was there to catch the other before he fell. Bath finished, Sebastian pulled Anders eagerly back to his bedroom. Anders felt his pulse speed up in anticipation.

The bedroom was still a bit of a wreck. Anders had not been in there since the morning that Fenris and Sebastian became human again. Sebastian just shot him a rueful grin and the two of them quickly disposed of the demolished cot. The blankets were still clean, and plentiful since Anders had begun keeping extra on hand for the cats. They spread them out on the floor, making a pallet large enough for the pair of them. Anders had certainly slept on worse. _Fucked on worse, too_ , he thought, watching Sebastian’s bare ass as he straightened up the last blanket and stood. Noting the renewed interest in Anders’ eyes, Sebastian grinned at him.

“You will definitely need a better bed soon,” he said with a wink. “But this will certainly do for tonight, I think.”

Without any further ado, he reached for Anders across the small space, pulling the other man to him. They crashed together, and this time their kisses were anything but gentle. Sebastian nipped at his lips, his chin, trailing a line of bites down his neck that caused Anders to moan. They sank gracelessly to the floor in a tangle of limbs, rolling on the blankets as each tried to touch the other everywhere at once. Anders’ hand found Sebastian’s cock, long and slender and firm. It was Sebastian’s turn to moan when Anders stroked his length, and he bucked into Anders’ hand before rolling over to pin Anders beneath him. He grabbed Anders’ hand in his own, linking their fingers together, and used a knee to spread Anders’ thighs. Anders arched into Sebastian, pressing their cocks together between them, and they moved against each other frantically, rutting now, both eager to get off. Anders reached his free hand to Sebastian’s neck, pulling him down for another kiss, sliding his tongue into the open mouth, swallowing Sebastian’s shout when he came. Anders came only seconds later and they collapsed together, breathing heavily, but still kissing in between breaths.

“That might be it for tonight,” Anders lamented as Sebastian rolled off him, snuggling into the crook of his arm. “Warden stamina or not, after all of the running around for the last few days, and all of the mana I used in that cave…”

“Mmm,” Sebastian kissed him on the cheek. “There will be other nights, if you want them.”

“Do you honestly think I would say no to more of this?” He waved a hand vaguely over their twined bodies. A thought occurred to him and he rolled on his side. Tracing a finger lightly along Sebastian’s ear, he asked, “Fenris isn’t going to kill me for this, is he? I’m not exactly his favorite person, after all, even if the two of you do have an arrangement.”

“Do not worry about Fenris,” Sebastian said with an amused smile. “After the past month, he has a much greater understanding of you. He will not object.” A thoughtful look crossed Sebastian’s face, and it was easy enough for Anders to guess what he was thinking.

“It’s okay, Sebastian, I’ll be fine. Go, check on him. I am sure he will want his armor back by now.”

“Will you be safe?”

“As safe as I’ve ever been,” Anders answered with a wry grin. “Which is to say, not terribly, but I’ll manage. I always do.”

“Hmm.” Sebastian sat up and moved to clean himself off with one of the spare blankets, but Anders could see he wasn’t happy about leaving.

“I’ll put up a barrier once you go,” Anders promised. He remembered how Rogue had always pestered him to put up the barrier before going to bed each night after the templar raid. It was amusing to realize that Sebastian was so worried for his safety.

“Very well,” Sebastian sighed. “It will have to do, I suppose.” He leaned over to give Anders a deep kiss. When he pulled back, his face was serious, but Anders could see a hint of twinkle in his eyes. “For now, at least.”

He stood and left the room before Anders could ask what he meant by that. Anders could hear the sounds of Sebastian getting dressed, so he cleaned himself off and straightened up his pallet. Then he found the loose trousers he slept in and pulled them on. He met Sebastian at the door and they traded one more kiss. Then Sebastian was gone, and Anders felt a sudden overwhelming sense of loss as he turned back to his room. He suspected it was going to be a long and lonely night. Still, he reflected as he settled down under the blankets, this new arrangement might not be so bad after all.

_Assuming_ , he thought as he drifted off, _that Fenris is as willing to share as Sebastian thinks he is._


	6. Chapter 6

As it turned out, Fenris _was_ furious. But not for any reason Anders would have ever expected.

“You cannot continue to sleep here by yourself!” He insisted the next morning, having shown up before Anders was even awake, with a rather bemused-looking Sebastian in tow.

Anders had woken to Fenris pounding on the doors, demanding that he drop the barrier and let him in. He wrapped himself up in one of his blankets before going to meet Fenris’ demands. Fenris was standing on the other side of the door, breathing heavily as if he’d just run a great distance. Anders just stood there for a few moments, blinking blearily at the elf filling his doorway. He could just see the shape of Sebastian behind Fenris.

“Good morning to you too,” he finally managed, stepping back to allow them inside.

“This is not the time for flippancy, mage.” Fenris snapped as he brushed past Anders, glaring around the clinic as if expecting templars to jump out from hiding at any moment.

Anders very carefully did not point out that Fenris appeared to bristling. If he had still possessed a tail, it would have been lashing back and forth. Instead, he turned a mute plea to Sebastian, hoping for some sort of explanation.

“Do not look to him for help,” Fenris said, shooting a glare over his shoulder. He turned back and crossed his arms, scowling down at Anders again. “He never should have left you here alone last night. Had I been thinking more clearly when I realized that he had returned to the mansion, I would have sent him right back out again.”

“Oh?” Anders asked with a grin. “Weren’t thinking clearly, were you? In a bit of a daze? I take it that means you forgave Isabela for not telling anyone you’d been turned into a cat.”

Fenris let out a huff of breath and squeezed his eyes shut. Behind him, Sebastian appeared to be shaking from silent laughter. Anders suspected that meant his guess about Fenris’ preoccupation was right on target. Apparently deciding to ignore the jibe, Fenris drew a deep breath and opened his eyes again, focusing them on Anders with an intensity that made him shiver.

“It is card night at Varric’s. Sebastian and I will escort you to the Hanged Man, and after that we will all return to my mansion.” He glanced toward Anders’ tiny back room, clearly not impressed. “Pack what necessities you will need, and you can stay there from now on, whenever you are not working here.”

“Now, wait just one minute!” Anders drew himself up to his full height. “I am fully capable of taking care of myself! I don’t need escorts to the Hanged Man, or to be protected while I sleep!”

“It is not safe here!”

“It’s not safe for me anywhere! But I have managed to survive on my own up until now.”

“That was before the templars started using their off hours to break into your clinic just to vent their anger with you!”

“Oh, so _now_ you think the templars are a threat? I thought you, of all people, would gladly see me safely locked away in the Circle.”

“That was before I—” Fenris looked down, drawing a deep breath. He looked back up, meeting Anders’ eyes. “I may have underestimated just how corrupted the templars and Circle of this city have become. I have no wish to see anyone given over to those men if the orders of their own commander no longer hold any sway over them. Especially not…” He looked away again, swallowing. Sebastian placed a hand on Fenris’ shoulder, all traces of mirth gone. Fenris tilted his head, laying his cheek against the hand. “Not you,” he finished softly, almost whispering. “Not now.”

Anders persisted, trying not to show how shaken he was by the raw emotion in Fenris’ voice.

“Do you really think relocating at night will throw them off? What’s to stop them from going after me at your mansion?”

“Us,” Sebastian said.

His voice was quiet, but his eyes sparked with a fierce light. Fenris looked up, meeting Anders’ eyes again, and nodded firmly in agreement. Anders’ shoulders slumped and he shook his head slowly, the fight going out of him. If anyone had told him over a month ago that _Fenris_ would be here, worrying over his safety, he would have thought them mad. But here he was, indignant at the thought of leaving Anders without protection at night.

“At least here, there’s no one for them to hurt but me,” Anders said at last. “If I’m at your place, the pair of you only risk being hurt as well.”

“ _We_ would not be the ones in danger, should they be foolish enough to attempt attacking you there,” Fenris scoffed. Sebastian nodded his agreement.

And that was that. Fenris remained long enough for a cup of tea, at Sebastian’s insistence, and to oversee Anders packing up what little in the way of personal belongings he possessed to be taken to the mansion. Just to make sure Anders couldn’t change his mind, Fenris took the bundle of items with him when he left. Sebastian surprised Anders by sticking around to help him prepare the clinic for patients. When Anders went to light the lanterns over the clinic doors, Sebastian gave him a kiss on the cheek and whispered farewell, saying he had personal matters to attend to. Anders watched him go with a baffled little smile on his face, but he was quickly brought back to reality when a handful of Darktown residents showed up all at once.

The clinic had been closed for several days while Anders had been hunting down that cave with Sebastian, and that meant Anders had some catching up to do with his healing. Thankfully, there had only been one major injury in his absence, and the man’s family had been able to provide temporary care to last him until Anders’ return. He felt a small pang of guilt as he finished treating the man. He’d been very lucky indeed. It didn’t always happen like that. More often than not, if someone was hurt badly or became very ill while Anders was away from the clinic, there was no one to make sure they lasted until healing could be given. He wished he could do more for these people, but it wasn’t as if he could be at the clinic every minute of every day. After all, he had his own cause to fight for, and no matter what he might tell Fenris, he had to make sure to stay as far from Meredith’s attention as he could. If he was locked up or killed, there would be no one at all to see to these people. That they seemed to know and understand all of this, and never complained about those lost when Anders wasn’t there to help them, was at least a small comfort. Although sometimes their acceptance of such a dire lot only made the guilt worse.

He hadn’t expected to see Sebastian again until he and Fenris arrived to take him to the Hanged Man. But not long after lunch time (which Anders managed to skip without realizing it), Sebastian showed up bearing a small covered basket and a jug of ale. Catching a whiff of the smells emanating from the basket, and the fine craftsmanship of the jug, Anders suspected that both had been procured in Hightown. His stomach let out a loud rumble as Sebastian walked past him. The prince gave him a knowing look and chuckled.

“I was afraid you might have skipped lunch. You’re bad about that, Anders.”

“I just get busy, is all.”

He finished the bandage he was currently applying and gave the patient a few care instructions before shooing her out. Glancing around, he realized that no one was waiting after her. The clinic was empty, for the moment. Sebastian had timed his arrival remarkably well, it seemed. He moved to the pump in the back of the clinic to wash his hands and then joined Sebastian at his desk, accepting the plate that was held out to him. He finished his lunch with embarrassing swiftness (damn that Warden appetite!) but Sebastian seemed prepared for this, snagging the plate and filling it once more before handing it back.

“Thank you.” He smiled at Sebastian and then realized that he was eating alone. “You’re not having any?”

“I ate before I came here,” Sebastian told him. “Besides, _I_ could probably stand to skip a few meals, at least for a little while.” He looked down at the small paunch he had accumulated with a rueful smile. “Of course,” he mused, looking up again, “I doubt I’m likely to be eating nearly as much now that I’m not—” he flushed and glanced around, “now that I’m back to normal.” His brow furrowed and he gave Anders an assessing look. “Now that I think about it, I am fairly certain you gave us more food than you ever kept for yourself…”

“Growing kitties need to be kept fed,” Anders argued in his defense. “You wouldn’t eat anything you hunted—although I suppose now I know why—and you couldn’t exactly get your food any other way.”

“Also, you couldn’t help spoiling your new companions?” Sebastian asked with an arch of one brow.

“Well. Maybe a little.” Anders shrugged, and Sebastian laughed softly.

“I suppose I should be grateful we weren’t turned into hounds instead.”

“Hmph. You would have just needed to follow Hawke home instead,” Anders retorted, grinning. “Although you’d have ended up getting twice as fat, I’d wager.”

A young woman walked into the clinic, glancing fretfully down at the crying infant she held, and Anders went to see to her immediately. Sebastian stayed in the clinic for the rest of the afternoon, helping out by fetching things for Anders, distracting children, and things of that nature. Anders was glad of the company. As much as he might be loath to admit it, he had grown used to never being really alone. He was going to miss having Rogue and Hunter around, even if it he now had the chance at something far more substantial with Sebastian. Not to mention the possibility of friendship with Fenris.

“Not that I’m complaining,” he said to Sebastian later that day, after the lanterns had been extinguished and they were cleaning up, “but surely you must have something better to do with your time than hang around the clinic helping me?”

“Such as?”

“I don’t know. Chantry things?”

“Anders, you know I’ve left the Chantry.”

“You have? But you still live there, or at least keep your things there. Before we left for the cave—”

“I have left the Chantry, but not my faith,” Sebastian said slowly, turning to face Anders. He leaned against a table, arms crossed and head tilted. “I cannot be Prince of Starkhaven and a Brother of the Chantry both. But Elthina is still my friend, and the Chantry was my home for many years. Before Fenris and I left Kirkwall, she allowed me to leave my belongings in storage there.”

“Oh,” Anders said. “I hadn’t realized.”

“Evidently.” The words were accompanied with a smile. “As it happens, I retrieved the rest of my things this morning and took them to Fenris’ home, which, I suppose, is now my home as well as his. And yours.”

“Ah. Didn’t mention to Elthina just who you’d be sharing your new lodgings with, I’d wager.”

“It didn’t seem relevant, no.”

Anders snorted. Part of him wanted to ask just how his trip with Fenris had gone. All he knew about it, he realized, was that they’d been on their way back to Kirkwall when they were transformed. It brought home the reminder that whatever time he might have with Sebastian would be short. Soon enough, he would have the resources he needed to reclaim his throne, and then there would be no room in his life, or his bed, for a crusading apostate merged with a spirit of justice. That was probably for the best anyhow. He had his own plans, after all. If either of them went into this expecting some sort of lifetime of happiness, they were just dooming themselves to misery. There was no sort of happy ending for them in a situation like this. Not with who they were. Best to enjoy it while they could and to know what they were getting into.

Of course, there was also Fenris to take into consideration. He, too, would be left behind when Sebastian returned to Starkhaven. Or would he? Fenris, at the very least, could go along as a guard of some sort. Anders vaguely recalled a conversation between the two to that effect, actually. Hadn’t Sebastian asked Fenris to train his guards? Suddenly, he was absurdly grateful that Fenris was so determined to protect him now. That he wanted Anders at his mansion where he could be safe, and might actually get a more equal share of Sebastian’s time. Fenris’ home. Sebastian’s home now, too. And his. Theirs. He shook his head in disbelief.

“Anders?”

“You know, when you said Fenris wouldn’t mind sharing you, I didn’t think you meant it quite in that way. All three of us.” He shook his head again.

“Hmm. Now isn’t that an interesting thought indeed.”

“What?” Anders looked up at Sebastian to find a wide dreamy smile on his face. His eyes rounded as he realized how Sebastian had taken his last statement. “I didn’t mean—!”

But Sebastian wasn’t listening. He had, apparently, gone to his happy place. Anders flushed in embarrassment and returned to folding bandages with renewed vigor. Really. As if Fenris would stand for such a thing. Surely Sebastian should know better. Beside him, Sebastian started humming something that sounded suspiciously like a bawdy song Isabela liked to sing when she was drunk. Maker’s breath, he was actually thinking about all three of them together. Anders shook his head once more and resumed his cleanup work. Sebastian’s humming followed him as he moved around the clinic. He tried to block it out, but a small voice in the back of his mind couldn’t help but point out that, really, it actually _was_ a rather interesting idea.

~~~

Card night proved to be a welcome distraction. When Fenris had arrived to walk with them to the Hanged Man, Sebastian had given him a look that had left the elf blushing and Anders wondering if he could sneak back to the clinic after the game somehow. Who cared if he had nothing to wear for tomorrow? But Fenris had cocked one eyebrow in question, and just like that, Sebastian was back to his usual serene self. He asked Fenris how his day had been while Anders locked up and put a barrier on the clinic’s doors. Anders found himself only half listening as Fenris described a trip to the market and then what sounded like several hours spent cleaning and then training with his sword. Glancing at the sword in question, Anders wondered how Fenris wasn’t falling over from exhaustion. Still, elves tended to naturally have more endurance than humans, he pondered, and Fenris’ strength had been specifically enhanced with his markings. Thinking of Fenris’ endurance levels started leading him down a dangerous path (because Fenris wasn’t the only one with enhanced endurance, now, was he? And could Sebastian really expect to keep up with _both_ of them?), and he quickly yanked his wayward mind back to the conversation between the other two men.

He had forgotten that everyone else in their little group thought Fenris and Sebastian had still been traveling. Apparently, neither Merrill nor Isabela had bothered to mention seeing them since they had returned to normal. Hawke’s squeal of delight when they walked into Varric’s suite all but drowned out Aveline’s gruff greeting and Varric’s own drawl of welcome. Anders did catch a raised eyebrow from Varric when he walked in right along with them. Yes, he supposed it might seem rather odd to find him in the company of those two without any apparent incivilities. As they settled in, Varric’s eyes narrowed slightly and he turned a considering look on Anders.

“Where are your little friends tonight, Blondie? I haven’t seen you without them in ages. I was starting to get used to them, and I know Daisy and Rivaini enjoyed having them around.” He glanced at the women in question, taking in their apparent lack of surprise or concern that Anders was apparently without a pet once more.

“Er,” Anders coughed to buy himself a moment. Why hadn’t he thought up an explanation for the disappearance of the cats? Of course, it hadn’t even occurred to him that anyone other than Merrill or Isabela would notice. Hawke, having detached herself from a very awkward hug with Fenris (on his part, at least, going by the look on his face), was rolling her eyes and had turned to ask Aveline about her latest patrol with Donnic. Varric was watching Anders closely, waiting, so Anders just shrugged. “I don’t think we’ll be seeing them again,” he said as flippantly as he was able. “They’ve moved on, it seems.”

Not looking at Fenris or Sebastian to gauge their reactions was a challenge. Especially when he saw Varric’s eyes slide to the pair of them and narrow further. He could practically see the wheels turning in the dwarf’s mind. Thankfully, Aveline managed to save the conversation when she asked Sebastian how his journey to gather support had gone. Everyone settled in and Isabela dragged Hawke off to gather drinks while Varric started dealing the first hand. Anders listened curiously to Sebastian’s recounting of his trip with Fenris. It would probably be good for him to stay up to date on how efforts to retake Starkhaven were going, all things considered.

“As well as it could, I suppose,” he answered amiably. “Plenty of old allies of my father’s were more than willing to promise support _if_ I am able to gather a decently sized army. Of course, none of them could possibly spare any of their own troops any time for the foreseeable future.”

“Of course,” Aveline snorted. She shook her head in disgust.

“I still say you should put Aveline in charge of your troops,” Merrill chirped.

“As fine a job as I am sure she would do,” Sebastian said kindly, “I do not think she has any desire to leave her current job. Besides, I would actually need to have some troops, to put her in charge of them.”

“True,” Merrill agreed reluctantly, pursing her lips. She dismissed the conversation and stared down at her cards.

The evening wore on rather pleasantly. At one point, Hawke remarked that it was nice to have the whole group together again, and Anders had to bite back a laugh. After all, they _had_ been together several times over the last month, even if most of them hadn’t realized it. Varric made a loud thoughtful “hmm” in response to the comment that drew speculative glances from not just Sebastian and Fenris, but from Aveline as well. She had tilted her head and given him a hard look before, noting the way _he_ was looking at Fenris and Sebastian, turning to assess them as well. Her eyes narrowed slightly and then widened at the blush tinting the tips of Fenris’ ears and the sheepish grin on Sebastian’s face. She swiveled her head to Anders then, and he just shrugged. She looked as if she was about to say something, but a quick shake of Sebastian’s head had her closing her mouth again.

Fenris had been adamant they not tell anyone about the transformation who did not already know. It seemed that keeping it a secret from anyone other than Hawke was going to be a futile effort though. Well, hopefully if it was technically a secret, no one would actually _ask_ Fenris about it. Although Anders realized he would give much to see him start acting like a cat again without actually realizing it, as he had that morning. He smiled to himself at the thought.

When the night wrapped up, Isabela pulled Fenris off to the corner for a hushed conversation. Anders saw her glance up at him when Fenris shook his head briefly and whispered something in her ear. The slow smile that spread across her face had him fighting back a blush. He squeezed his eyes shut and wondered how long it would be before a steamy threesome showed up in her friend fiction. It wasn’t even as if he could explain that it wasn’t like that at all, not without calling attention to the whole situation. So he just sighed and followed Sebastian outside to wait for Fenris. As soon as they exited the tavern, Sebastian caught up his hand and linked their fingers together. The sweet smile Sebastian offered him was enough to drive all thoughts of Isabela from his head, and before he had really given it any thought, he reached up to kiss Sebastian.

Sebastian met the kiss eagerly, and Anders found himself pressed against the nearest wall. The force of the impact nearly knocked the breath from him, but he could not stop kissing Sebastian. His head began to swim as his body screamed for air, but he just wrapped his free hand tightly around Sebastian’s waist, trusting the other man to hold him up if he started to fall. They only broke apart when an amused chuckle sounded from behind them.

“This is hardly the place, you two. Come, there will be time enough for that at home.”

Anders caught a glint of…something in Fenris’ eyes that set his stomach fluttering. That was certainly new. The accompanying grin did nothing to calm his racing heart, either. Sebastian uttered a breathy laugh of his own and turned follow Fenris, tugging Anders along behind him. He barely noticed their surroundings as they entered the mansion and he was led upstairs. He had only been in the place once or twice, and it took him a moment to realize they had pulled him into Fenris’ room. Sebastian let go of his hand and moved to an armor stand in the corner, reaching for the buckles on his breastplate as he moved. Fenris stalked to an identical stand in the opposite corner and began removing his armor as well.

Unsure of what to do, Anders glanced around the room, taking it in. It seemed much cleaner than he remembered it being, and he wondered if that was Fenris’ doing or Sebastian’s. His eyes fell on a third corner and his heart sped up as he saw that it held his staff and the small chest containing his own belongings. He whirled around, focusing inexorably on the single bed in the room, and a small choking noise escaped his throat. Sebastian and Fenris paused in their undressing, exchanging a glance before turning a matched set of questioning looks on him.

“Surely you can’t _actually_ mean for all three of us to share—” He gestured wildly at the bed.

“Why not?”

Anders stared at Fenris. The elf looked baffled, as if he could not imagine why Anders would be at all surprised by this expectation.

“Anders,” Sebastian said slowly. He sounded as if he was torn between laughter and worry. “We have all shared a bed for almost a month now. Fenris and I just thought—”

“Can you say it felt right, last night, sleeping by yourself?” Fenris interrupted to ask. “Even with Sebastian here last night, I felt as if something was missing.” He stared at Anders, frowning. “This room is more than large enough for all of us, even now that we are no longer so…compact. But if you would prefer to sleep alone, I am sure accommodations can be made…”

“No!” Anders shut his eyes and took a few deep breaths. “No,” he said again, more calmly. Opening his eyes, he added, “Thank you. I just did not expect that you would want. That is, I just.” He sighed. “I don’t want to get in the way of anything,” he finished lamely, glancing between the two men.

“You are not in the way of anything,” Sebastian said softly. He closed the distance between himself and Anders and cupped the mage’s cheek in one hand, stroking it lightly with his thumb. “We would not have made the invitation, otherwise.”

“Are you sure?” Anders asked lightly, eyes sliding back to Fenris.

“We are,” Fenris answered.

He joined the two of them and reached up to cup Anders’ other cheek. He took a deep breath and, holding Anders’ eyes, leaned in to kiss him. The kiss was hesitant, at first, but quickly grew fierce. Before he knew it, Fenris was plastered to him, trying to devour him. This close, with this much contact, the lyrium in his body sent Anders into a heady high. He felt as if he was flying.

“Oh,” he said softly as Fenris stepped back. Then everything went black, and the next thing he knew he was lying on the bed. Sebastian and Fenris were leaning over him wearing twin expressions of concern.

“Are you well?” Sebastian asked.

Fenris pulled back a little, biting his lip. Anders stretched out the hand nearest him, flailing around until he found Fenris’ fingers. He gave the elf’s hand a tight squeeze and grinned at them both.

“That was _wonderful_ ,” he sighed. Sebastian relaxed a bit.

“What happened?” Fenris ventured.

“The lyrium, I think,” Anders answered. “You caught me off guard, I wasn’t expecting so much contact.”

“Ah.” He frowned. “Perhaps this is a bad idea after all…”

“Oh, no!” Anders squeezed his hand again, then reached the other one out for Sebastian. “No, I’ll be fine. You just might not want to take me by surprise like that for a little while, hmm?”

“You’ve never had a reaction to Fenris’ lyrium like this before,” Sebastian mused, moving to sit on the bed. He had managed to get everything but his pants off, Anders noted idly.

“He’s never been pressed up against me, practically naked and with his tongue in my mouth before, either,” Anders observed.

Fenris finally seemed to relax. He laughed along with Sebastian and sat down on the bed as well. Anders looked back and forth between them, smiling in contentment. It was the same contentment he had felt each night going to bed with both cats curled up next to him. Fenris had been right, something had happened over the last month that had tied the three of them together. Sitting here with the two of them just felt _right_. Of course, he thought, eyes idly tracing the lines of Fenris’ markings, it could certainly be _better_. Like Sebastian, Fenris wore only his leggings now. Someone had removed his coat when moving him to the bed, but he still suddenly felt rather overdressed.

Sebastian seemed to be thinking along the same lines. He flashed a wicked grin and leaned over, licking a wide stripe up Anders’ neck and then nibbling his way back down the suddenly sensitive flesh. His hands moved to the laces of Anders’ trousers and nimble fingers began to make quick work of the ties. Anders shuddered in response. Fenris hummed softly and kissed Anders again, softly this time, just a quick press of lips, before reaching down and grabbing the hem of Anders’ shirt. He tugged it up and off, tossing it in a corner. Once that was out of the way, he leaned in for another kiss, this one deeper, but slow, exploratory. Anders sighed and returned it. He felt a tugging at his waist and broke away from Fenris, glancing down to find Sebastian divesting him of his pants.

His eyes widened as Sebastian grinned up at him and then moved his nimble tongue to Anders’ cock. His head fell back to the pillow as he lost himself to the sensation of Sebastian’s mouth taking him in, and Fenris pounced. He captured Anders’ mouth and this time did not hold back. Anders had just enough presence of mind left to scrabble at Fenris’ laces, sliding his hand inside and taking hold of Fenris. He sighed into the elf’s mouth as he began to stroke his cock, silky soft and smooth but enticingly hard at the same time. He and Fenris swallowed each other’s moans and groans, and their fingers tangled together in Sebastian’s hair. They came at the same time, Fenris bucking into Anders’ hand and Anders into Sebastian’s mouth. Sebastian hummed happily, wiping his chin as he sat up to grin down at the pair of them breathing heavily. Anders and Fenris exchanged a look and then reached up simultaneously to pull Sebastian down between them. He gave a happy yelp of surprise and then they were on him, hands linked around his cock, taking turns kissing him and each other. He didn’t last long under such attention, and once he was a sated mess, they collapsed together in a happy pile of limbs and bodies.

“Maker,” Anders whispered as they shifted to find the most comfortable position. “I could get used to this.”

“Mmhm,” Fenris agreed, spooning up behind him and kissing the back of his neck.

“Oh yes,” Sebastian breathed, fumbling to pull a blanket over them and rolling over to look at Anders and Fenris with drooping eyes.

Their breathing evened out and soon all three were fast asleep.

~~~

Anders started from sleep, unsure of what had woken him. His feet were freezing, he realized, but his stomach was far _too_ warm. He also seemed have wormed his head half under a pillow, although it felt much heavier than he would have expected.

_Whap._ Something smacked softly against his shoulder, and he blinked in confusion. _Whap_. Slowly he became aware of a steady vibration at his stomach, and another in his ear. Purring. _Whap._ He sat up, drawing a disgruntled meow from the grey cat that had been sleeping on his head, and an inquisitive meow from the brown cat that had been snuggled into his side. Hunter. And Rogue. Not Fenris and Sebastian.

“What in the Maker’s name…?”

The cats seemed to realize what was wrong at the same time he did. Hunter— _Fenris. He’s Fenris, no matter that he’s a cat_ —gave a plaintive cry. Sebastian seemed more confused than distressed, but he looked at Anders with wide blue eyes full of questions.

“I don’t understand…if you changed back, and that glyph was dispelled, there’s no reason for you to be cats again.”

Anders frowned, thinking furiously. Fenris cried imperiously and Anders reached out to pet him reassuringly without thinking about it. Sebastian leaned into him, apparently content to wait while he thought it over. He closed his eyes and tried to picture the cave again, remembering every detail he could dredge up about the transformation glyph. The other victims hadn’t changed back when he’d undone the magic. Their transformation had been permanent. He had assumed, that since Sebastian and Fenris were human again at that point, they had somehow escaped that aspect of the spell. But…something Merrill had said when they’d gone to see her before visiting the cave came back to him and his eyes flew open.

“Son of a—!” Both cats looked up at him, seeming to realize he had figured something out. He glanced back and forth between them and then focused on Sebastian, picking him up and moving him a little bit away on the bed. “I need you to close your eyes and concentrate _very_ hard on being human again.”

Sebastian tilted his head, obviously curious, but he closed his eyes all the same. For a few moments, nothing happened, but then a soft blue shimmer surrounded him and his shape began to grow and change. Sebastian opened his eyes and let out a soft gasp of surprise, staring down at his hands.

“Now, you,” Anders said to Fenris, moving him over on the bed to give him room to change.

Fenris screwed his eyes tightly shut. It took a little more time with him, but before long he also began to glow and then changed back to his original form. Although, he noted with amusement, he was still bristling in a very cat-like manner.

“Venhedis!” He hissed. “What is going on here, mage?”

Before Anders could answer, Sebastian distracted them both by turning into a cat again. Fenris’ jaw dropped open and Anders blinked a few times. Then Sebastian shimmered and turned back to human, letting out a delighted little laugh as he did so. He looked at Anders, eyes twinkling and a wide grin on his face.

“Werecats?” he asked happily. “Is that even possible?”

“Apparently,” Anders said faintly. Fenris hissed again.

“Explain.” He demanded.

“Remember how I told you that the other statues didn’t turn back when Anders and I were at the cave?” Sebastian asked him. Fenris nodded tersely. “He said the transformation was permanent. I couldn’t understand why we had turned back though, if that was the case. But the spell didn’t affect us the same way, did it? Because of the lyrium in your markings. Try turning back, Fenris, you should be able to do it at will!”

“I don’t _want_ to be a cat,” Fenris grumbled. He turned wide eyes to Anders, pleading. “Tell me there is a way to reverse this.”

“I’m afraid not. I think the magister who set the original trap used some strange cross of a holding spell mixed with the shape shifting working that some mages can do.” He shook his head, amazed at the insanity of it. “Again, I cannot imagine what he was thinking! There must have been a million other spells he could have used to keep people away from his hoard.” He sighed and gave Fenris a small hug. “Your lyrium amplified the original magic, making the spell capable of more than it was intended to do, I fear. I’m sorry. I wish I could undo it for you, but…”

“But what?” Fenris narrowed his eyes when the corners of Anders’ lips quirked up in a smile.

“I think Sebastian has the right of it.” He cleared his throat and glanced at the other man, who was still grinning in delight. “You should probably practice changing back and forth a bit, until you get the ability under control. That will hopefully prevent any more accidental transformations, at least.” Fenris heaved a sigh but nodded. Anders offered him an apologetic smile. “Who knows? You might find that it comes in useful someday.”

“Perhaps,” Fenris admitted grudgingly. He pinned both men with a serious glare. “But we will speak of this to no one. No. One.”

Anders and Sebastian quickly agreed to keep the full effect of the spell a secret. Fenris sighed in frustration and burrowed under the covers, trying to ignore Sebastian as he chortled and leaned forward to steal a kiss from Anders.

“Werecats!” he crowed. “This is going to be fun!”

Fenris groaned and threw a pillow, hitting Sebastian squarely in the face. He just laughed in response before leaning over to kiss the tip of the elf’s ear, just visible under the edge of the cover. Anders watched the two of them, shaking his head in amusement. He didn’t know whether to thank that magister or curse him. Sebastian met his eyes and they exchanged a grin before joining Fenris under the covers. Life had taken a very strange turn indeed.

He thought maybe he was okay with that.

 

**END**


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